JIA Case Files 3: Canals of Venice
by Istoria
Summary: (Complete 08/05/03!!) Ah Venice, the city of love. Of course that's before there are more dead bodies then gondola floating in the canals. The Kenshin-gumi meet old foes, tangled with news and try to find a bit of time for romance.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note : This is it… The final installment. I'm going to try something different this time around. Yes, there will be action but I'm going to attempt to add… shock… romance.

Seriously folks, each writer has their strengths. WAFF is not mine.

Now before you keep reading, I need to ask a favor of you. Have you ever had a fanfic author tell you they won't post something until they get X number of reviews. Well, that has finally happened to me. Worse though, it's actually a really cool Kenshin fan comic with all the gang in high school (with some funny MegaTokyo stuff stuck in). 

Here's a sample page:

http://www.livejournal.com/talkread.bml?journal=battousai_high&itemid=13053#cutid1 

Anyway, I think only people with a Livejournal can vote but you will make me real happy if you just click: http://www.livejournal.com/talkpost.bml?journal=battousai_high&itemid=22005 and vote YES! 

So I could offer you something in return for doing it but short of writing something, I don't know what it could be. Besides, I know as soon as you read it, you'll be hooked just like me and that should be reward enough. Anyway… on ward with the story.

**__**

Chapter 1

"So you're sure I'm not bothering you?"

"No, it's not a problem Kaoru. Really, I'm happy you called."

"Thanks so much. I would call Megumi but every time I do all she does is bitch about how it's taking forever for her divorce papers to clear. Poor girl, who knew that a Vegas quickie would take so long to undo? And let's face it Sano isn't the one to ask…"

"So in other words I was your last choice."

"No, Misao I didn't mean that!"

Misao laughed, a melodious little giggle that broke the tension instantly. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"Mou, really now."

"Sorry but… I promised Aoshi to get you back for posting that picture of him in Hawaii on the Internet."

Now it was Kaoru's turn to laugh. "It was irresistible. The department hasn't been that happy in days."

"So you're back working full time?"

"For the moment, anyway. They won't let me fly a helicopter anymore."

"There's a surprise."

"Ahem… but, they are offering me a teaching position at the academy."

"Really? That's great!"

"Yeah, I guess so. It's just… well…" Kaoru trailed off. "I guess I should be happy that I'm not in the line of fire anymore."

"Well, I'm sure Kenshin'll be happy."

"Actually he doesn't complain about it that much… well, okay so every so often he just 'happens' to show up at a crime scene."

"Sounds like he hasn't changed a bit. So speaking of the redheaded devil… I believe that was the reason you called."

"Ano…" Kaoru started and began to trail off. "Misao, I need you to tell me the truth…"

Misao's brow furrowed. "Of course."

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

"What?" Misao cried. "Did Kenshin say you weren't pretty?"

"No! It's not that…"

"What did Kenshin say?" a deep voice asked quickly. Misao tried to hush him but it didn't work.

"Is Aoshi there?"

Misao sighed. "Yeah, he's here."

"You should have told me! I didn't want to interrupt…"

"It's okay, Kaoru. Aoshi and I are just… ummm… hanging around, you know."

There was the sound of an opening door and an alto voice announced his return. "Misao, that's him. We're going to go watch Yahiko in the soccer championships."

"Good luck to him then! And call me back later! I think we need to talk."

"Hai! Tell Aoshi I said hello. Talk to you soon."

Misao flipped the phone shut with a sigh. She shot a glare over at Aoshi before noticing he was looking unhappily back at her.

"What did that idiot do this time?" Aoshi asked.

Misao shook her head. "Well, if someone didn't have to be so nosy, maybe I would have found out. When are you going to stop treating Kaoru like she's a teenage girl?"

Aoshi muttered something that Misao could catch. She frowned and pushed him playfully. His footing slipped and he frowned at her.

"Oh, come on!" Misao smiled. "Can't you take a little push?"

"Yes," he said evenly. "I just prefer not to when I'm several hundred feet off the ground."

Misao rolled her eyes and quickly pushed off the side of the building, swinging outward and parallel to the ground. She had a few minutes of air before she fell back in place. 

"Don't do that!" Aoshi snapped.

Misao giggled. "Come on, loosen up. At least enjoy the view," she said sweeping an arm out towards the glittering Hong Kong nightline.

"I will… as soon as we are back on the ground."

Misao sighed and looked over at him. "You're no fun, you know that."

The slightest smile appeared on his lips as he prepared a retort. He didn't have to say it, the blush was already forming on Misao's cheeks. They lapsed into silence before Misao found a way to change the subject.

"I thought after this, it might be nice to go home for a bit," she said softly. "You know, see everyone again and… talk to them about things."

She looked over at him, waiting for a reply and smiled broadly at his short nod. She turned back to look at the lights of Hong Kong. Her smile shifted slightly. They didn't glitter even half as nicely at the ring on her finger did.

***

Megumi put the red pencil down with a sigh. Five days straight of marking papers. She would be glad when this was over. Who would have thought that being a professor would be more work then being a surgeon?

She looked over to her calendar with a sigh. February was half over and she needed a vacation. Thank goodness winter break was fast approaching. But where to go? She had enough money saved up to go anywhere but she didn't want to go alone. She'd have to drag Kaoru with her, that is if Kaoru could stand to be separated from Kenshin for more than a few hours.

Now, now, no need to be a bitter old woman, her inner voice chided. Megumi bristled knowing that the voice was probably right. She wasn't bitter… she could date if she wanted to. But this whole stupid marriage thing was just causing too many problems. She couldn't risk a scandal if someone found out she was married and dating someone other than Sano.

Megumi's frown deepened. Stupid Sano. This was his fault. If he hadn't gotten her drunk… if he hadn't suggested a walk… if he hadn't said that they should… ARGH!

She looked down, slowly uncurling her fingers from the student's paper that she had just decimated. She sank her head and calmed herself down. It was easy to be angry, easy because otherwise she would have to admit to herself that she had had at least half a part in it.

She picked up the phone and dialed her voice mailbox. It was empty meaning the lawyers hadn't called her back yet. She let the phone drop and stood up, deciding that coffee was better than wallowing in her own misery.

"Takani-sensei!!"

"Mitsu-sensei," Megumi said as her colleague approached. "Is anything the matter?"

He smiled slightly and shook his head. "Not at all. I was looking for you and here you are!"

Megumi raised an eyebrow. "Indeed."

"Where are you headed?"

"For some coffee," Megumi said.

"Ah! Then come with me. We had a conference earlier today and there's some gourmet coffee left from it in the main auditorium."

"That's all right. I just need a quick…"

"Come on!" Mitsu said, grabbing onto Megumi and pulling her away. 

"Demo…"

"Really, Takani-sensei, you want to drink that tar they have in the lounge when there is a hazelnut mix just waiting for you."

Megumi slowly fell into step behind him. Okay… so hazelnut was one of her favorites. "Well, I suppose a walk would be okay." She looked over at him. "So what did you want to see me about?"

Mitsu hesitated and then quickly cleared his throat. "Actually, to tell you about the leftovers."

"Really? Well, that's very nice but you could have just…"

"Takani-sensei, we've been working together for almost a year right?"

Megumi balked and then nodded. "Yes, just about."

"Well, I feel as if I know nothing about you! I just wanted the chance to talk with you face to face." He paused in front of the auditorium doors and pulled one open.

"Well… okay but there's really nothing about me that would seem interesting," she said with a shrug. She came to a stop. "Where are the lights?" she asked, looking down into the darkened auditorium.

The room suddenly exploded into light and Megumi had to cover her eyes. As soon as they adjusted, she could barely believe what she was seeing. Most of the department, faculty and students, were in the front by the stage. A large table of food and drinks was laid out there and a huge sign hung from the ceiling. "Congratulations!" it said, a sentiment echoed by the crowd.

"What's going on?" Megumi asked softly.

"Well, like I said, Takani-sensei, you don't talk about yourself at all," Mitsu smiled. "So when we heard that you were recently married, we decided it was time you came clean with us."

Megumi turned slightly pale.

"Takani-sensei!" Several of her female students were rushing up to her, carrying glasses of champagne. 

"Where did you meet him?"

"Is he handsome?"

"Why did you keep it a secret from us?"

"Can you bring him to class??"

Megumi looked at them and the stage and finally at the glasses of champagne. She made the only choice that she could. She took several glasses and started to drink them in rapid succession.

"Well, before we lose Takani-sensei to took much celebrating," Mitsu said with a smile, "let's give her a gift. Here, this is from everyone."

Megumi paused for a minute in her drinking and looked at the envelope. She took it cautiously and opened it. 

Suddenly, it became very clear that all the champagne in the world wasn't going to help on this one.

***

Sano sneezed loudly and looked around. Hmph, someone must be talking about him. He stared down at the paper and tapped his pencil against the desk. He paused for a second longer before filling in a circle.

He pushed away the stupid smile that was about to form. That was it! That was the last question on the last test he would ever have to take!! Well, that was if he passed the test.

Of course you'll pass! It's not like you've been doing anything else but studying these past few months.

Che, like that was his fault. Stupid Megumi, ostracizing him from their group just because of a stupid mistake. He had tried to make up for it, footed half the bill for the lawyers and everything! Like she hadn't had a part in it.

Of course not. Miss High and Mighty was too moral to do something as seedy as get married to an ex-gangster in Las Vegas. 

Sano frowned. He looked down at the paper and quickly checked over the answers one more time. If all went well then all his problems were about to be solved. He'd already put in the request for a position in Kyoto. That way he'd kill two birds with one stone. Get as far away from Megumi as he could and finally let Kenshin and Kaoru have the place to themselves. 

Not that that redheaded baka had any idea of what to do when he was alone with her. Che, how the hell could Japan's best assassin be so terrified of one girl?

__

"But Sano… I don't want to hurt her."

"You won't!"

"Or I'll scare her."

"Oh come on!"

"Or worse… she'll just stop liking me all together."

Apparently, Sano didn't have enough problems with Megumi. The gods had a sense of humor and decided to sick him with a best friend with a self-esteem problem. And he didn't know how to approach that. 

Sano closed his eyes and stood up. He walked to the front of the classroom and stared the professor down as he handed him the paper. The professor looked at it once and then took it, sliding it into the reader by his desk.

It should have taken only a few seconds for the machine to produce the results. But to Sano it felt like his entire life was playing out in front of him in agonizing detail. The way he was kicked around in school when he was just a kid. How he had met up with Souzou and the others. How they had all died. All his failures since then moved through his mind as if to prepare him for the inevitable.

And then suddenly, the machine signaled it was done.

***

Kaoru put her hands together and blew on her hands. It didn't matter that the large dome had slid into place well before the game started. Winter wasn't giving up easily this time and she couldn't shake the last remnants of cold that she brought from outside.

Next to her, Ayame and Suzume bounced up and down, holding brightly colored pom-poms. Gensai-sensei smiled slightly at the sight and pulled his glasses so he could see the field.

Kaoru looked around, trying to see if Kenshin was anywhere. His red hair stood out in the crowd and she waved him down, letting him now where everyone was. With a large smile, he wove his way to the seats, holding the tray of drinks in his hand.

He didn't quite clear the last seat and small 'Oro' escaped his lips as he bumbled towards her. Kaoru stood up and caught the tray with a smile. Taking it from him, she turned and let the girls pull their cups. She took the last two and handed one to him as he sat down next to her.

"Did you get the marshmallows?" Kaoru asked. Kenshin looked at her unhappily. "You forgot?"

"Marshmallow!" the two little girls cried, after removing the lids from their drinks. 

Kaoru looked over at Kenshin with a frown. "That's not funny," she said, hitting him on the hand.

He smiled and caught her hand before it got away.Satisfied with having Kaoru in one hand and a cup of hot cocoa in the other, he settled into the seat and watched the two teams come out. 

Yahiko was not hard to pick out, his spiky hair a style not adopted by his fellow teammates. He stood in the goal, smacking his hands together to warm up. Kenshin stole a glance over at Kaoru as she started yelling in support of him.

Two forty-five minute halves later, the game was still tied at nil-nil. There several empty Styrofoam cups by Kaoru's feet, promptly getting squashed as she stood atop them yelling various things at the field as they set it up for penalty kicks.

Kenshin looked over at Gensai-sensei and the older man smiled and shook his head. "Just like her father," he mouthed.

Kenshin smiled and nodded, leaning back in his seat. But a second later, Kaoru pulled on his arm and got him to stand up. She had so much energy, he mused. And this was for her adopted brother. Imagine what it would be like for their children.

The thought made him go pink at the cheeks. Well, he had just fast-forwarded things several years in advance. Of course at the rate he was going, they'd be lucky to share kiss before the next decade.

Yahiko leapt up and blocked a shot, making the score 5 to 4. The crowd went wild as the referee signaled the end of the game. Yahiko disappeared under a flood of teammates and Kenshin was lost in a sea of black as Kaoru leapt into his arms, jumping up and down with happiness.

Suddenly, he heard Megumi's voice in the back of his head. It was from the first dinner he had had in Kaoru's house, while he was still undercover in the Hiten.

__

"Take my advice. Take this chance. Rewrite your life and let go of whatever haunts you. When you stepped in the door to this house, none of it mattered anymore."

Looking down, he watched as Kaoru disengaged herself from him and turned to dance with the two little girls. Megumi had been right. He was getting a second chance and there was no way he was going to let anything happen this time around.

***

"I will kill them."

"But Shishio-sama…"

"There is no argument in this."

"You are still not completely healed. This is a minor incidence. Allow the lower ranks to take care of it."

"Yumi, I will not allow them to undo everything I have worked for. Get the plane ready. We are leaving in an hour."

***

"So you'll come?" Yahiko asked as Kaoru unlocked the front door.

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world," Kaoru smiled. "How often is it that you baby brother gets to compete in an international championship in Rome?"

"I'm not a BABY!" Yahiko yelled.

Kaoru just rolled her eyes. "Well, considering that your coach as me to come so I could act as a supervisor…"

"Maa maa," Kenshin said quickly, not willing to let the festivities get interrupted by a fight. "I'm sure that Kaoru-dono will make an excellent chaperon and that Yahiko will do very well in his game."

Kaoru smiled a bit. "Yeah, especially with the team manager watching from the sidelines."

Yahiko turned several shades of red and clenched his fist. "Leave Tsubame-chan out of this!"

He instantly regretted it as Kaoru erupted into giggles. "Oh, so it's 'chan' now??"

Yahiko groaned and stomped up the stairs. Kaoru laughed until he was gone and then let out a little sigh.

"You shouldn't tease him so much, de gozaru," Kenshin said closing the door behind him.

"Mou, if I didn't, that ego of his would grow out of control." She smiled a bit and let the silence drag out a bit. "Ne… Kenshin?"

"Hai?"

"Would you… ummmm… would you like to come with us to Italy?"

Kenshin blinked and looked at her. Of course he wanted to go but there was no way he could afford a plane ticket. And there was no way she could pay for both of them. She looked up at him with big blue eyes and he knew that no man in his right mind would refuse her. They'd sell a kidney to get the money.

But before he could answer, the doorbell rang. With an apologetic look, he turned around and opened the door.

Megumi and Sano stood waiting there, arms crossed and silent despite having arrived at the same time. Neither looked particularly happy but when they caught sight of the other two, the tension in the air relaxed.

"So…" Megumi prompted.

"They won!" Kaoru said happily.

Megumi clapped her hands and walked into the house. "So where is he?"

"Getting changed," Kaoru sighed. "They're all going out to celebrate."

"Celebrating sounds like a good idea," Sano added, walking indoors.

Kaoru and Kenshin looked at him, watching as the big man shuffled into his pockets before producing a piece of paper. They looked at it as soon as he unfolded it. A second later, they both looked up in surprise.

"You passed?" they said in unison.

"Che, you make it sound like pigs flew or something," he said.

"Congratulations!" Kaoru cried, reaching up and wrapping her hands around his neck. The tall man spun her around twice before depositing her (somewhat dizzy) on the ground again. He grabbed Kenshin and almost crushed the small man in his excitement. Sano finally turned to Megumi and waited for a retort.

"You did well," she said softly. Three sets of eyes blinked. "What?" she demanded looking at them.

Sano decided to not push his luck. "Thanks, Kit… Megumi."

"What happened?" Yahiko said bounding down the stairs.

"Sano passed his final test!" Kaoru related.

"No way! Hey, good job tori-atama!"

"Oi! Watch what you say! I can arrest you know, Yahiko-chan."

"DON'T CALL ME CHAN!!"

A honk outside broke up the fight before it could get much worse. Yahiko stuck out his tongue, promised Kaoru he'd be back by curfew and disappeared out the door. As soon as he was gone, Kaoru and Megumi started giggling.

"What?" Kenshin asked.

"You didn't smell it?" Megumi replied.

"Yahiko was wearing cologne," Kaoru sang, dancing towards the kitchen.

***

Several glasses of wine later, Megumi finally unwound enough to come clean. She let out a sigh, breaking the natural silence that had descended on the group. They looked up at her with puzzlement on their faces.

"What's wrong?" Kaoru ventured.

"They found out about Vegas at work," Megumi said, refilling her glass.

"That you were kidnapped?" Kenshin asked.

"No."

"That you sang a lounge song in a silver dress?" Kaoru added.

Megumi shot her an unfriendly look. "Not that either." She looked over at Sano and the man gulped.

"Oh…" Kaoru nodded settling back into the seat.

"I thought…" Sano started but Megumi shook her head.

"They threw a party," she said softly. "They served champagne. And… they gave me a wedding present," she finished producing the envelope and throwing it on the table.

Two plane tickets spilled out, a hotel brochure came soon after and then a map of the city. 

"Venice?" Sano said. "Isn't that a bit… pricey."

"Yes," Megumi said evenly. "I'm in a very bad predicament now. I can't refuse the gift because doing so would mean that I would have to explain what happened. And…"

"And you can't tell you perfect friends," Sano filled in bitterly, "that you got married to me."

"That I got DRUNK and married to you," Megumi yelled. "God! Why does everything have to be about you?"

"Well I assumed that it was my fault since you haven't said two words to me since we left Vegas!" Sano responded.

Megumi was about to retort but fell short. Fighting wasn't going to solve anything. She needed to figure out a way out of this. 

"Then we need to go together," Sano said. Megumi flashed him an angry look. "Calm down. We'll go, take a couple of pictures and go our separate ways. Then you can come back and tell them you found me with some other chick, the papers should be ready by then. Happy?"

Megumi blinked. "But… what will your colleagues think?"

Sano frowned. They wouldn't think anything because he'd be halfway to Kyoto when word reached them of what happened. He just didn't feel like telling that to them now.

"It doesn't matter," he muttered.

"Hey, these tickets are for Rome!" Kaoru said, picking them up. 

"Yes, two days in Rome then a train to Venice in time for the Carnival," Megumi said softly.

"And they're first class tickets," Kenshin continued.

"Yes…" Megumi replied hesitantly. "So?"

Kenshin looked over at Megumi. He hated to ask her but this was the perfect way to get to Italy and spend some time with Kaoru. He looked over at her, his violet eyes opening up as he looked at her.

"Oh… crap," Megumi said softly reading his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note : Sorry! I know this is late but it was a holiday and all. So now that I am stuffed with food and creative ideas. I bring to you the next chapter. … and yes, there is WAFF… *hides head in hands*, God I hope it worked.

Oh and since so many people (22) left me reviews, I answered them at the bottom of the page. Thanks again!

**__**

Chapter 2

"Yes ma'am? How can I help you today?"

"Well, let's see. I need a hand gun and five minutes alone with them."

The flight attendant's smile never balked. "How about a nice cup of tea and a free headset to listen to music."

Megumi frowned a bit and then slowly nodded. "Toss in a few pain killers and we have a deal."

The attendant nodded and started down the aisle before a stray soccer ball hit her. Megumi sighed and leaned back in her seat, grabbing a pillow and trying to bury her face in it. Though whether she was attempting to drown out of the noise or smoother herself was still undecided.

She tried… she really tried this time to push away the thoughts of five star dining in first class. The legroom where she could stretch out and fall asleep. Complete and utter silence to indulge in while sipping on red wine. Wearing beautiful silk dress and a lovely Italian millionaire sitting next to her.

Oh yes, that was a nice dream.

But here she was in jeans and an old Tokyo University sweatshirt, with half an inch between her and the seat in front of her, trying to digest whatever reconstituted meat was just served to them and sitting next to a tanuki that could sleep through World War III!

And that's nothing to say of the rest of the compartment. She must have offended someone in a past life to deserve this traveling curse. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream in anger. Most of all… she wanted to kill Sano for what he was about to do.

"READY!" Sano yelled. "Dae-Han-Min-Guk!" he sang.

Thirty voices answered him and then repeated it. Over and over again. Megumi stood up and shot him a dirty glance.

"THAT'S NOT EVEN JAPANESE!" she yelled.

Sano looked at her with a trace of a smile. "They are participating in an international competition. They need to know chants from other country. Okay! Next up is BRAZIL!"

The National Youth Soccer team from Japan cheered and began chanting the well-known song as Megumi decided that there was a better use for her pillow.

"OI!" Sano cried indignantly as the pillow hit him upside the head.

Megumi frowned and turned her attention to the source of all her problems. Sure, it was Kenshin that suggested trading in the first class tickets again but Megumi knew it was all Kaoru's fault… somehow. She pushed the sleeping girl until Kaoru finally opened a sleepy eye.

"Kenshin?"

Megumi sighed. "No, tanuki-chan. Your little boyfriend is making friends with the girls on the team."

Kaoru shot up and looked over to where her poor redhead was being quizzed by the few girls who came with the team. "What are they talking about?" Kaoru asked.

Megumi gripped her by the shoulders and turned Kaoru to face her. "Kaoru… they're fourteen years old. Chill out."

"Mou," Kaoru said unhappily sliding in her seat. "So why did you wake me up?"

"Tell Sano to stop leading soccer chants," Megumi stated.

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Tell him yourself."

"Kaoru…"

"No!" Kaoru said. "I'm not getting involved in this childish temper tantrum! We're not five years old."

Megumi frowned and unclicked her seatbelt and stood up. "I'm going to go find that flight attendant."

She stood up quickly and left Kaoru rolling her eyes again. She passed by the assembled group, ignoring their incessant chanting. Peeking a head into the side passage that housed the food carts and usually at least one attendant, she was further annoyed to find no one there.

__

Probably on a coffee break, Megumi sighed. She turned to leave when she felt someone grab her arm. Before she could even utter a peep, she was shoved into one of the lavatories. The door slammed shut and the lock was clicked into place, suddenly flooding light into the darkness and giving identity to her aggressor.

It felt like the entire world fell from under her.

***

"What's your favorite food?"

"What kind of music do you like?"

"Do you play soccer?"

"What do you do for a living?"

Kenshin smiled and tried to decide which one to answer first. He shot a look over to the seat Kaoru should have been in. But neither her nor Megumi was anywhere in sight. He was about to excuse himself to find her when he felt to firm hands on his back. Turning upwards from his cross-legged seat on the ground, he was lost in a sea of black.

"Hello girls," Kaoru sang out. "How are we all doing?"

"Fine, Kamiya-san," they echoed back.

"Okay," she smiled, looking down at Kenshin. "I'm going to get some coffee. Do you want some?"

"Aa," he smiled.

She nodded and lifted her hands from his back. "Oh… and it's Fruit Loops with whole milk, classical and grunge, he used to, and he sells antiques, " she finished ruffling the top of his head.

The girls giggled as Kaoru sidestepped by them and left a slightly blushing Kenshin in her wake. She smiled to herself and headed towards the middle of the plane. When she got close, she couldn't help but notice the long line of people who were waiting for the lavatory.

"Christ, what are they doing in there?" someone said.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow. They? She looked at the people and at the door. Well, vacation or no, she was an officer of the peace. She knocked on it loudly. "Hey! What's going on in there?"

There was no response.

"HEY! Open up!" Kaoru said, banging loudly. There was movement behind the door and Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise as she took in the scene in front of her when the door opened. "Megumi?" she said softly.

The young doctor was pale as a ghost, her eyes bloodshot and her hands twitching ever so slightly. "He's here," she whispered.

"He?" Kaoru said, sticking her head into the small room and seeing no one there. "Who's here?"

Megumi looked at her, trying to bring up a shaking arm to push the hair that was sticking to her face out of the way. "Ka… Kanryuu…"

Kaoru put a strong hand on Megumi's shoulder. "Calm down, Megumi. You know he's not here."

"He was… right…"

"No," Kaoru said firmly. "My father arrested him, remember? Jail without parole. And then you can to live with us and it was hard but you stopped being afraid."

With sudden clarity, Megumi looked at Kaoru. "He's here. I just saw him," she stated firmly.

Kaoru let go of her and shook her head. "Just stay here okay? I'll be right back."

"No!" Megumi cried latching onto her arm. "Don't go… please…"

Kaoru looked down at Megumi unhappily. It had been so many years since this happened! What brought on this attack? Too much stress at work and the whole thing with Sano probably didn't help things. She needed to get back to her seat but obviously she couldn't leave Megumi here. And she didn't want to bring Megumi back in this state.

But as always, there was a certain person there to help her out. "Kenshin!" she called watching as the red head approached.

He smiled a bit as he approached. "You were taking a while and the girls were asking a lot of…"

"Kenshin," she said with a smile, trying to ignore the hand that was digging into her left arm as she took a step from the lavatory. "Can you do me a favor?"

He raised an eyebrow as he stepped closer and saw the way her arm was being pulled back into the lavatory. He was about to look inside when she used her free arm to stop him.

"It's just Megumi," she said. "The seat messed up her hair. Can you go back to the seat and grabbing her carry on?"

Kenshin looked into her eyes, knowing she wasn't being truthful. But the look she gave him made it clear that it was something she couldn't discuss at the moment. So he smiled and nodded, walking back towards the seat. Kaoru was asking the people around her for a bit more time when he returned with the small blue bag.

"Thanks, I'll be back with the coffee in a few seconds," she said, quickly stepping inside and locking the door in back of her.

Riffling through the bag, she pulled out the small tube of pills and popped one out, handing it Megumi with a look that made it clear there was no discussion. As the older girl leaned over the sink to get some water, Kaoru pulled out the brush and started to straighten Megumi's hair.

Megumi watched the action silently and sniffled. "You think I'm just having an attack."

Kaoru paused in her brushing. "No… it's not that."

"He was here," Megumi reaffirmed. "I know he was."

"I'll check the plane out, okay?" Kaoru said. "If he's here, he couldn't have gone anywhere. And Kenshin'll sit with you for the rest of the flight."

Megumi nodded and watched as Kaoru let the brushed hair fall out of her hands and onto her shoulder. She started to pull out make-up but Megumi stopped her.

"I'll do that," she said softly. "You're not exactly the best at make up, tanuki."

Kaoru frowned, hiding the smile underneath. The old Megumi was already coming back. As soon as Megumi was done, she turned and gave Kaoru a hug. 

"You're just like him you know," Megumi said softly. "He would be so proud."

Kaoru was about to thank her but she saw the look in Megumi's face. Megumi was back to her self again. Flippant and foxy and not ready to deal with all the mush Kaoru wanted to say. 

So she settled for a smile, three cups of coffee on the way back and a promise from Kenshin not to move until she got back. Fifteen minutes later, Kaoru came back shaking her head. He wasn't on the plane, she had checked three times. But Megumi looked far from convinced.

***

Misao sighed, leaning against the pillar in the huge airport with a frown. Rome's airport was legendary! The _Leonardo Da Vinci _was more shopping mall then gateway to the world. And they had at least another hour to kill before Kaoru's flight arrived. 

Good thing they thought to call ahead to Tokyo. Gensai-sensei had been nice enough to inform them of the group's current travel arrangements. And by catching the next flight out of Hong Kong, they were actually going to beat them to Rome.

Misao smiled happily, standing up on her tiptoes to try to find Aoshi in the crowd. He said he would only be gone for coffee but it felt like hours. She giggled, realizing that she was just being silly. Only minutes felt like hours when he wasn't there.

A blush crept up to her face as she looked down at the ring. She was turning into a complete nut case! But it was worth it. It was worth going absolutely insane and making this decision. Besides… how could she have said no that night?

***

__

Misao yawned, feeling the black top shift and she turned to sprawl against the warm form next to her. She smiled feeling him shift slightly. This arrangement worked perfectly, though convincing Okina had been a problem.

"Come on! I'm not a little girl anymore!" 

"Absolutely not," he had said.

"Aoshi has no problem with it!"

"Of course he wouldn't."

"Fine… whatever. But think of all the money we could have saved."

"…" A long pause. "We'll try it once."

And once had turned into two times, two into four and so on and so forth until it was standard operating procedure that they would only need one room on their trips. Very convenient. And after several months of it, it hadn't just been fun… it was a welcomed release from the stresses of work.

She would take this time at night, when he was asleep and she was still trying to edge off the adrenaline, to think about what it might be like to not just share the occasional hotel room but an actual apartment, maybe even a house.

She let out a sigh and shifted again. Okay, maybe she was jumping ahead. It's not like he had declared undying love or anything. Of course, he wasn't the type to do that either. But sometimes, she saw it in his eyes, just that little spark that might…

She turned again and let out an exasperated sigh. What was wrong with this stupid pillow? It was like rocks were driving into her neck. 

"What's wrong?"

Misao blinked and looked over at Aoshi's open eyes. "Sorry," she said softly. "I just couldn't get comfortable."

"Do you want another pillow?"

"No," she sighed. "This one is uncomfortable enough! I mean, what the heck did the stuff this with?" She picked it up and was about to fluff it when she caught sight of the source of her aggravation. 

Placing the pillow to the side, she reached forward and tentatively wrapped her hand around the little black box there. She paused and looked over at Aoshi, finding him already concentrating on her. Slowly she opened the box and there in the middle with the golden band with a nice sized diamond.

She looked over at him and if she wasn't already half blinded by the happy tears that were starting to form, she would have sworn he looked almost nervous. His eyes locked with her, relaying a message he didn't need to speak. And a second later, she gave him her answer.

***

Misao giggled, again for the umpteenth time. She couldn't wait to watch Kaoru's reaction to that story. Or maybe she shouldn't tell her just yet. The poor girl was having enough trouble over why Kenshin never did anything but hold her hand. 

No, she would kick Himura's ass first for making Kaoru think it was because she wasn't pretty enough and then tell Kaoru. That sounded like a plan.

"Gomen nasai?"

Misao blinked and turned to the source of the Japanese that seemed so out of place in Rome.

"Hai," she said with her normal genki smile. But it faded quickly as she saw who was talking to her. Slowly, she reached for the weapon concealed behind her jacket.

Seta Soujirou smiled at her, holding up a hand. "Maa, maa, no need for that. I'm not here to try anything."

"Then what are you here for?" Misao said carefully, wondering where the hell Aoshi was.

"I wanted to talk. You're a very hard person to find," Soujirou said. "But when I heard the rest of the Tokyo group was coming here I took a chance." He beamed at her. "And here you are."

"How did you know they were coming here?" 

"I just know. Like you and the rest of the JIA know things. We find sources of information, tap them and do what we will with the result. Today, I wanted to meet you."

Misao let the hand fall from her back and crossed her arms in front of her. She wasn't going to let him scare her. Besides, he could just disappear in the crowd if he wanted to. And to be honest… she had a few questions for him. Like where had he been? Why wasn't he sucking up to the newly reformed Juppongatana? And most importantly, was Shishio alive?

But before she could utter a word, his eyes lit up. "Oh! Congratulations!" he smiled, motioning to her ring. 

Misao settled for something halfway between a frown and a smile. He wasn't exactly the first person she wanted to tell about it. "Thank you," she managed.

Soujirou looked around. "I do want to talk but… not here." He pulled out a card and handed it to her. "This is a small café in the middle of Rome. Meet me there tomorrow at 1:30pm. We can talk there. And please… don't tell anyone where you are going and who you are meeting."

"You mean, just walk right into the trap," Misao replied with a smile.

Soujirou balked a bit but the smile never left his face. "Yes, you would think that. But no, it's no trap. I'll be there alone and willing to discuss something that would interest you immensely."

"Really? What's that?"

"My amnesty in exchange for testimony." He smiled and looked over her shoulder. Misao quickly turned her head, seeing Aoshi finally coming back. When she turned back, she wasn't surprised at all to find Soujirou was gone.

"Were you talking to someone?" Aoshi asked as he handed her a cup of coffee.

She looked at the empty space and then smiling, turned back to him. "No, no one at all."

***

The wheels touched down and Megumi almost joined the cheering soccer team as it did. She had never in her life wanted to be off a plane more than she wanted to now. She felt Kaoru shift and lean over Kenshin to try to get a glimpse of the area around the airport.

With a sigh, she turned back to the other side of the plane, not wanting to ruin their moment. She caught sight of Sano, his long legs sprawled out into the walkway and his mouth open as he slept through the entire landing. Feh, he was worse then Kaoru when it came to sleeping.

His eyes suddenly opened as the "fasten seat belt" light toned off and caught Megumi looking at him. She turned away quickly and started collecting her things, trying not to snap at Kaoru as the hyper girl pulled at her sleeve and tried to show her things outside.

Megumi got lost in a sea of teenagers as they walked outside. A large sign welcomed them to Italy and the kids immediately headed there after a command from their coach. Megumi watched as Yahiko and Tsubame walked next to each and couldn't help but let out a little "OHOHO" before she regained her composure.

Everyone eventually assembled at the welcome point. Well, everyone besides Kenshin and Kaoru. Sano shrugged as he walked over to the coach. "Jou-chan left something on the plane. They'll be right here."

And in fact, Kaoru was dashing down the empty aisles to retrieve something from her seat. Stupid, stupid, she sang to herself as she quickly shuffled through the pocket in front of her seat and pulled out her passport and customs form.

She was about to turn around when she felt a presence sneaking up behind her. She turned around quickly, ready to take on what ever was coming after to. But her arms were already caught in his grip.

"Kenshin! Mou, you scared the living daylights out of me," she pouted.

He smiled a bit. "I could tell, since you were ready to deck me just then, de gozaru," he finished holding up his hands that were gripped around her wrist.

"Are you going to let me go?" she said softly.

"No," he smiled.

"Mou! They're waiting outside."

"Hai, de gozaru."

She blinked and looked at him with a smile. "What exactly are you thinking Himura Kenshin?"

He smiled, violet orbs twinkling happily. "I was thinking that considering the rowdy state of the team, that this might be the last chance we have alone."

She had a retort prepared, a snappy and good one but it quickly died on her lips. His arms lifted her arms around his neck and then slid down to her waist. Their eyes caught and it was a perfectly romantic moment…

Okay so it was in the middle of a plane that they had spent lord knows how many hours on, but Kaoru was willing to take it. It might not be the best story to tell the grandkids but…

Kaoru's eyes widened a bit as she saw something move behind Kenshin's shoulder. He saw the look and turned around to see what had startled her. He caught sight of it and slowly let his hands drop as he prepared for the blow.

There's a scary moment right before an attack when you can read your opponent's eyes. You know what's going on in their mind and you know what's about to happen, but it's like a deer in the headlights and you can't react, even if you were once Hitokiri Battousai, feared assassin for the Hiten yakuza. Even though it tended to happen more often then he liked, as if the red hair was a great big blaring target. So yes, a moment later, Himura Kenshin was met face to face with the one move that no man had been able to counter. 

A full running glomp for the genki queen of spies.

"Misao!" Kaoru smiled as she stepped out of the way, letting Kenshin hit the ground with Misao on top.

"Kaoru-chan!" she sang happily. "Himura," she added, patting his chest before standing up. Kenshin let out a little cough as he tried to stand up. Kaoru was attempting to breathe underneath the crushing hug of Misao.

"What are you doing here?" Kaoru asked.

"We changed our plans so we could meet you guys in Rome," she smiled, letting go of Kaoru. Then she started to smile, not the normal I-am-on-perpetual-caffeine-kick type, but the sly I-have-a-secret type.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow and Misao's smile deepened as she held out her hand. 

Kaoru blinked. She leaned forward. She looked at the ring and then at Misao, who nodded happily. And Kaoru promptly erupted into happy giggles.

***

"I still can't believe Ice-man proposed."

"Megumi!" Kaoru chided. "Stop being so bitter."

Megumi bit her lip, knowing full well that Kaoru had just hit the nail on the head. "I didn't mean it that way. Look, Misao, if you want the truth I've never seen him happy like this."

Misao smiled. "Happy?"

"Err… as happy as Aoshi could be," Megumi said with a smile and that was enough for Misao.

Kaoru shot her one last nasty glance before turning to Misao. "We need to celebrate! Go out dancing or something!"

"A girl's night out," Megumi added. "That would be fun."

Misao nodded happily. "I'd really love that. But tonight… I'm ready to just sleep. Jet lag and all." Kaoru yawned a reply.

The taxi pulled to a stop in front of a sprawling hotel and the girls watched as hundreds of teenagers from around the world milled about. They were laughing, passing soccer balls around or munching on dinner.

The cold air hit Kaoru as she stepped outside. She was used to the sunny images of Italy, filled with beaches and green groves. But it was just cold and it looked like it was ready to rain.

Grabbing her bag, she walked towards the lobby, Megumi in tow. She picked up the key to their room and waved good-bye to Misao as they went upstairs. The halls were filled with kids from the Japanese team and it looked like Sano and Kenshin were having problems keeping them in line. Kaoru shot him an apologetic look and sneaked into the room with Megumi in close tow.

With a sigh, she tossed her bag on the floor and collapsed on the bed. Megumi was talking but Kaoru lost track of what she was saying as sleep suddenly over took her and she passed out.

***

When Kaoru woke up again, the clock by her bed blared the fact that it was only 3am in the morning. 3am and she was wide-awake. Looking down, she smiled at the fact that her shoes were off, her hair was free of its ponytail and a blanket was pulled over her. Megumi, she thought, looking over at the sleeping form next to her.

With a smile, she stood up silently, stretching her body to work out the muscle cramps. Her vision adjusted in a matter of seconds and she could see in the dark again. A few minutes of silence confirmed that the rest of the team must have been asleep. 

She giggled, remembering Kenshin and Sano's attempt to get them into their rooms. If she hadn't been so tired, she would have shared in their enthusiasm. But she had felt sleep tugging her since she got into the taxi. She barely remembered walking into the room.

Letting her night vision lead, Kaoru walked away from the door and towards a window, surprised to find it was actually another door. Slowly, she opened the door and stepped out into the balcony.

Rome unfolded in front of her and she stifled a happy gasp at the sheer beauty of it. Even now, this late in the night, it was alive, streaking lights from taxis moving by like little fireflies. The sky was dark, the stars outshone by the artificial light pouring from buildings. If she strained her eyes, she could almost see part of the Coliseum poking out from behind the maze of buildings.

She leaned forward to get a better view and suddenly heard some tapping on her right. Leaning back, she pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She smiled, giving a small wave at the man three balconies down.

Kenshin frowned. He stopped tapping and motioned his hand, telling her to move away from the edge. She smiled devilishly and leaned over again, letting her black hair cascade towards the ground. She giggled as his violet eyes opened in fear before she shook her head as she leaned back.

She put her hands on her hips and mouthed a 'Mou' to tell him she wasn't happy with his behavior. All he could do to reply was scrunch his eyebrows. He had only come out for a breath of fresh air (and to escape Sano talking in his sleep) and of course the sight of Kaoru leaning over the edge of the balcony would upset him.

She smiled and turned around, leaning her back against the railing and getting a sneaky look in her eyes. He watched as she hopped upward and onto the dangerously slim metal railing, letting her feet dangle of the ground.

Being a master at Hiten Mitsuruji Ryu has many benefits. So before Kaoru could say otherwise, a red blur was hoping from balcony to balcony until it landed in front of her. She felt herself suddenly pulled off and dropped to ground, faced with two upset-looking violet eyes and a firm grip on her waist.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, eyeing the open door behind him.

Kaoru smiled happily. "Getting you over here."

"Oro?" he exclaimed, as the anger started to edge away.

Kaoru giggled and rolled her eyes. "You're too easy to tease," she smiled, before letting a blush settle into her cheeks.

He smiled and pushed the errant strand of hair behind her ear again, letting his hand trace down to her chin, amusing himself with the fact that the blush only deepened at that.

"So…" he started. "Now that I'm over here…" He leaned a bit forward.

The last thought Kaoru had was, now here's a story to tell the grandkids and then her brain went mush. But who could blame her? The moment their lips met it was a mutual agreement that there would be no more coherent thoughts for the evening. Just happiness, the pure bliss of finally pushing away all the worrying of the past few months and knowing this was the right thing. 

The wind tousled with their hair, dancing a solo dance as it moved across them. The sound of clothes being pushed at by the breeze was followed by the smell of musk and jasmine mixing together until finally the happy noise of balcony doors slamming shut broke their concentration.

They broke apart and Kaoru shot a glance over his shoulder to see that the balcony door had indeed been closed by the wind. From his vantage point, Kenshin could see that the same thing had happened three doors down. Carefully, with one hand still attached to Kaoru's waist, he leaned over and tried to open the door.

Locked from the inside. 

They looked at each other for a moment, realizing they couldn't back inside.

Then with a shrug they got right back to where they were before they were interrupted.

***

****

Author's acknowledgements:

Crystal : I hope this clears things up, thanks for the review.

Prudance-chan : I'm getting you in trouble constantly aren't I, ^_^ And yes S&M will occur.

Hikari : Thank you ^_^

Chiki : Thanks so much for your warm words. I read ALL your stories, so you better update soon.

JadeGoddess : Shishio will never die.. until he does… in a ball of flames. No wait, that was the other series.

JML : WHERE'S YOUR NEXT CHAPTER?!?!?!?!!?!? Seriously, I have to agree with the others on this one. Just kidding, thanks for the review… the chibi cat thing was adorable.

Ayce Shade : Thank you for your kind words, they really made me blush. Hiko and Saitou… well, they are cornerstones of this story. Besides, I have a special surprise in store for Hiko ^_^

The Wanderer : I know you hate the response, you'll hate me more after the end of this chapter, eh?

Nye-Yen : Poor Megumi indeed! She'll be broke by the end of this series.

S. Sanchez : It was a bit abrupt, I'll agree. So I want to make sure I have all my loose ends tied up in this one.

icerain - yes, I have numerous stories planned after this one so thanks for asking!

kodachi&kunai (LOVE the name) - Megumi will be a bit more central in this story then she has in the past. Tokio… I really like her and I can't imagine her not making an appearance. And of course, Hiko would kill me if he wasn't included.

Omochi - Good guess ^_^ Thanks for the review.

The NARRATOR : I LOVE your stuff, seriously, its hysterical. You'll get your wish with K&K… so when do I get mine and you update Mission Objective ^_^

Vesca : I'm really enjoying your "Click to Enter" right now so I'm glad you're enjoying my story too ^_^

Genimi16 - I love your dance ^_^ Yahiko'll be in this a bit more since he's actually traveling with them this time.

Tenshineko - They did take away her first class ticket. If I was Megumi, though, they wouldn't stand a chance.

lebleuphoneix - explanation given :) And yeah I feel bad for poor Sano.

Fehrocious - Next chapter was delayed by holiday, sorry ^_^ 

kawaii sakura-chan - There will be a little of them in the fic, I promise. And Italy is sooo much fun, I agree. As for S & M… I guess you'll have to see.

Void - Hello! Thanks for the note. I've been keeping up with your fic and it's getting really good. Sob… too bad I know where it goes.

Gochan!! - I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm so happy you started the Akabeko Crisis again. It was the first story I ever added to my "Favorite Stories" list, fastly followed by Rurouni's guide to idiocy. Thanks for keeping us all entertained. As for bartending… I think you may have given me an idea.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note : So going to sleep after this.  Holidays have been insane, this is the last thing I'll write till next year.  Have a great holiday and a happy new year!!

Chapter 3 

The first thing she noticed was the humming.  And that was soon followed by an equally annoying little song.  Megumi opened an eye and watched as Kaoru bounced around the room, a little bundle of happy energy.  

There was only one thing to do in a situation like this.

"KAORU!  Shut up!"

Kaoru paused in her singing and looked out of the bathroom at the angry woman uncurling from the bed.

"Mou, Megumi… you don't have to be so mean."

Megumi scowled as she pulled the sheets over her head and blocked out the sun.  Kaoru clucked her tongue and walked over, tugging at the sheet.

"Come on Megumi! We're in Rome!  We should explore, see the sights!  Don't be such a bum and get out of bed!"

Megumi flicked the sheet down so that her angry eyes could shine through.  "Look, I'm tired because the flight was long.  I'm tired because it's day here when it should be night.  And most of all I'm tired because some nitwit managed to lock herself outside on the balcony and was rapping on the door at 4am in the morning!"

"That's not…"

"What exactly were you doing out there anyway?" Megumi demanded. 

Kaoru blushed about five shades of red before turning away.  "Fine, just stay there.  I'm going out to do some exploring before the game this afternoon.  If you want to be a party pooper, you can just stay in bed all day."

Megumi muttered something of an agreement and burrowed herself under the covers further.  Kaoru's eyebrow twitched.  Reverse psychology hadn't worked.  There was only one course of action.

She wrapped her hands on the sheets and started to pull, feeling Megumi tighten her grip to prevent it.   Then with one strong pull she tore the sheet off the bed, with Megumi following closely behind and landing on the floor with an undignified thud.

"OW!  Kao…"

But before she could react, Kaoru walked out of the room and into the bathroom.  Something in Megumi's mind started to work, a small distant memory of her time in high school, when she had just started living with Kaoru and her father.  She wasn't a morning person back then and they had only one way of…

The memory clicked into place just as the bucket of cold water hit her face.  Megumi sputtered a bit, flailing her arms a bit. 

"That always worked," Kaoru sang as she moved towards the door.  She opened it wide just as Kenshin was about to knock.  He and Sano looked worriedly inside.

"We heard a large bang," Kenshin started, "and thought…"

He got a glimpse over Kaoru's shoulder and saw Megumi sitting there, drenched to the bone, the long nightshirt clinging to every part of her body.

Kenshin nose suddenly burned and he pitched backwards.  Sano got a very goofy smile on his face.  Kaoru was confused. And Megumi was charging at the door full speed, pushing Kaoru out of the frame and slamming it on Sano's face.

*           *           *

"Ohayo!" 

Megumi looked down in her coffee mug like she wanted to crawl into it.  It was bad enough that she had been woken up this early in the morning but to have to try to deal with that genki ball of energy this early in the day…

"Ohayo Misao-chan!" Kaoru said, pushing her seat to the side so Misao and Aoshi could join them.  A fresh plate of pastries and jam appeared in a matter of moments.

"So," Kaoru said, pulling out her tour book.  "What are we going to do today?  We have until 3pm before we have to be back.  I think we can get in the Coliseum, a couple of the fountains and we have to go the old arena and get some… gelato.  That's what it's called here.  That's a good start."

"Start?" Megumi managed.

Misao took a bite out of her breakfast.  "Sorry, Kaoru-chan, I have plans."

"What plans?" Aoshi said suddenly.

"Plans," Misao replied, not missing a bite.

"What plans?" he asked again.

Misao's brow furrowed.  "I just have something to do.  That's all." 

"Then I'll come with you."

"It's not necessary."

"I think it would be better…"

"No, I'll be fine.  You don't have to.  It's nothing dangerous."

"Then you can tell me what it is."

"Why?"

As the two lovers' conversation began to grow more heated, the rest of the group at the table began to shift nervously.  Kaoru bit her lip and shot Megumi a glance.  Megumi waited a beat before nodding.

"Oh for the love of it all, Aoshi," Megumi snapped, breaking the argument.  "Misao and I were going shopping for things for the wedding.  It was supposed to be a surprise."

Aoshi and Misao blinked. Aoshi looked down at her.  "Is that true?" Misao shot a look over at Megumi before nodding slowly.  "Then, I'm sorry," Aoshi said.

"It's okay," Misao laughed nervously.  "So, it's okay right Kaoru-chan?  We'll rain check on all that."

"Sure," Kaoru said forcing a smile.  "We'll save some stuff to do with you and Megumi tomorrow."

The conversation died off after that and as soon as the food was done, everyone dispersed to go their separate ways.

*           *           *

"So what was that all about at breakfast today?"  Sano asked, watching Kaoru and Aoshi move towards the gelato store.

"I don't know," Kenshin shrugged.  "I don't know Aoshi that well, but he doesn't strike me as the type to get visibly jealous."

"Yeah," Sano replied.  "There was something else there too.  Did you see the way that Kaoru and Megumi were looking at each other?"

Kenshin's eyes narrowed as the wind tousled his hair.  He let out a slow nod as he watched Aoshi and Kaoru interact behind the glass window of the store.  He couldn't read their lips to hear what they were saying but he could tell something was going on.

Kaoru had placed a hand on Aoshi's forearm, squeezing it so the fabric curled under her fingers as she spoke.  He didn't seem to be listening to her but she kept talking.  Her facial expressions were a mix of concern and determination.  With a frown, Kenshin slowly turned back to Sano.

"But I'm sure she'll tell us about it if we ask," Kenshin said.

Sano nodded and let the silence sit for a few minutes before he switched topics.  "Hey, Kenshin?"

"Hmm?"

"Where were you for an hour last night?"

Kenshin conveniently found a patch of ground to stare at.  Sano let out a little laugh and patted him on the back, causing the smaller man to oro and stumble forward.  Kenshin rubbed his shoulder a bit as he regained control and turned to face Sano.  Sano was still smiling and gave Kenshin a little wink.

"Oi! Iceman."

Aoshi frowned as he and Kaoru walked up to them.  "Sano!" Kaoru warned.

"What?" Sano said innocently as he took the gelato from her hand.  Kaoru glowered at him.  "Look, what I wanted to say was that Aoshi and I need to head back to the hotel now."

"Why?" Aoshi asked.

"Because we need to help them move things to the arena for the game today."

Aoshi's eyebrows furrowed.  He didn't remember signing on to help anything.  But Sano was giving him the 'yo-stupid-stop-being-a-third-wheel' look and considering how upset Kaoru was at him already, he wasn't about to test how annoyed she could get.

"I forgot," Aoshi replied.  "I promised Yahiko."

"That was nice of you," Kaoru smiled.

Aoshi nodded and waved as he and Sano set off.  Kaoru jumped up on the edge of the fountain and let her feet dangle, her eyes starring happily into the depths of chocolate gelato.  Kenshin smiled a bit before jumping up next to her.

She cast him a glance from the side of her eye and returned back to her chocolate, savoring every bite.   He cocked his head a bit to catch her eye but she pretended not to see him, taking another bite of the gelato.  

Kenshin let out a sigh and leaned back a bit, letting his arm fall into the water.  After a few moments, he let his fingers flicked some water in Kaoru's general direction, watching as the water hit her arm.  

Her brow furrowed and she turned to face him, a pout already forming on her face.  She moved quickly and before he could react there was a splotch of chocolate on his nose.

"Oro?" he said, violet orbs staring cross-eyed at the offensive blotch.

Kaoru giggled and leaned forward, kissing it off his nose.  He smiled at her action and reached forward, dipped a finger in the melted gelato and dabbing a bit on his lips.  He blinked up at her innocently and she let out a laugh before leaning forward to kiss it off.

He was to go for it again before she batted him away.  Hey, there were limits to how much chocolate she was willing to give away.  He smiled as she went back to eating and stared up into the sun.

Silence descended on them but there was no discomfort over it.  They just enjoyed the moment for a while before Kenshin broke it to ask about Aoshi.

"Huh?" Kaoru asked, putting the empty cup next to her.  

"It's just," Kenshin started, "that he was very upset this morning.  And Aoshi doesn't really get upset."

Kaoru nodded and looked out into the crowd.  "He'll be fine."

Kenshin raised an eyebrow at her non-committal response.  But the way she looked now, he felt it wouldn't be best to press the issue.  So he nodded.

"We should get back," she said with a smile.  "Yahiko's game starts pretty soon."  He nodded again and they strode out of the area.

*           *           *

Misao walked into the café with a frown.  She hated this already.  Lying to Aoshi, lying to everyone for that matter!  But, the chance to have a Juppongatana member testify against the group… 

She saw him in the corner towards the back, hiding the shadows as he sipped some tea.  He was smiling before she got there and it never faltered from his face the entire time.  She took a seat and let the waitress deposit a cup in front of her.  A moment later it was filled with coffee.

They sat in silence for a while, him smiling and her trying to maintain her normal genkiness.   But it was difficult to do so while wondering exactly what he wanted.  And the silence was becoming deafening.  She was about to say something when he began to speak.

"I know you don't believe me," Soujirou said.  Misao nodded.  "It's all right, I wouldn't believe me either.  Why would a high lieutenant in the Juppongatana want to turn himself in?"

"It is a bit unexpected," Misao settled on.

"Well, things change," he smiled.  "And people begin to wonder about the choices they made over the years."

"Something has to bring that on," Misao replied.

Soujirou nodded slightly.  "You're right."  His smile deepened. "It's ironic in a way.  They sent me to the Hiten family to spy and sabotage them.  But while I was there… I just started to see things differently."

"I understand," Misao nodded. 

"I don't mean that I want to switch sides, I just want to… start over I guess.  And this is the only way I can."

"The Juppongatana won't let you go?" Misao asked.

Soujirou shook his head.  "It doesn't work that way.  Either you stay until you're too old or…"

"Or they kill you," Misao finished with a frown.  "We can offer you what you want, protection, a new life in exchange for testimony.  But…"

"It's all right," Soujirou smiled.  "I know you can't just make promises."  Misao smiled a bit and nodded.  

"I'll contact my people.  We can start from…" She trailed off watching as he looked over her shoulder.  "What's wrong?"

"You didn't tell anyone you were coming, right?"

"No, no one at all," she said.

His smile faltered a bit.  "We need to leave.  Now."

Having been in a situation like this before, Misao didn't bother to question as he took off for the back exit.  Carefully she reached at her back, drawing her weapon as she scanned the back alley for signs of danger.  Soujirou motioned towards a fire escape and Misao nodded.  She grabbed the ladder and started climbing up, Soujirou close behind.

They reached the roof and aimed their weapons down towards the back alleyway. They waited in silence for a few seconds before they realized no one was showing up.  Misao slowly started to put her weapon away.

"I guess we were overreact…"

Soujirou moved quickly and pushed her to the roof, covering her body with his as the shingles exploded beside them.  They never stopped moving after that, instead bounding across the roof towards safety as a couple of goons closed in behind them.  

Despite not saying a word, they moved in unison, feet moving at almost the same speed as they jumped across the roofs of Rome, diving off of the edges and landed perfectly on the neighboring buildings.

"I think we lost them," Misao managed, catching her breath.  Soujirou nodded.

"I thought we did too but…"

He stood up and brushed himself off, watching as the four suit clad man approached them.  He turned to Misao, watching as her green eyes searched her opponents and reached the same conclusion he had.  Juppongatana lackeys.

Soujirou looked over at her with an apologetic smile.  She frowned and moved for her gun but stopped as she saw him extended an arm out.  Hesitantly, she raised an eyebrow.

"Trust me," he smiled.

She put her hand out and he grabbed it, pulling her close before he fell back through the ceiling's skylight, shattering it to a million pieces as he hurtled them to the ground.

*           *           *

Megumi stared into the window, looking at the fashionable dress there.  The fashionable dress that cost a month's pay.  With a sigh she turned to walk away and found herself simply walking to the next window.  

She smiled at herself in the reflection and put a few fingers on the glass.  The arrangement had worked out well.  Sure, she wanted to see Rome and all its sites but today, she just wanted to spend some time alone and window…

The reflection in the window shimmered and Megumi felt her breath stolen from her as she recognized the face that smiled at her from her shoulder.  Whipping around, she tried to find him, looking for him in the crowd of tourists.  

The people seemed to slow down, noises slowly ebbed into silence.  The world looked like it lost its color and suddenly all she could see was the familiar man across the street, eyeing her with a smile.

She took a step back and met with something very firm at her back.  As she started to fall forward, the world sped up again and the noise suddenly deafening her as they rushed back.

"Oi, megitsune?"

Aoshi looked at the girl that Sano had just caught. Megumi looked phased, her eyes clouded over.  She had lost her color, her pale face and black hair suddenly making her seem monochromatic.  The only sign that she was still somewhat here was the way her nails were digging in his arm.

"Megumi?" Sano tried again, looking down at her.

Nothing, she was frozen.  Sano moved to shake her but Aoshi put a hand on her shoulder and used the other to turn her chin towards him.

"Megumi," he said firmly.

She blinked and looked up at him with surprise, as if she hadn't seen him until now. She shook her head and looked up at Sano.  For a moment, he could see something like fear in her eyes before it faded and she pushed away.

"Sorry," she managed.  "I think I'm still… tired."

Aoshi looked around with a frown.  He didn't know what had startled her so much but he had a good idea.

_"You can't do things like that," Kaoru yelled as soon as the vendor took their order.  "You almost completely flipped out during breakfast this morning!"_

_He remained silent, not willing to say anything because he knew it would be a lie.  She looked at him with pleading eyes but he still ignored her.  She grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her._

_"You have to learn not to judge other people because of what happened before.  Kenshin was not like Neechi, even though you were sure he was.  And Misao is not… she's not like…"_

_Kaoru let out a sigh and looked away.  "It was all going so well.  All of us, we were finally putting the past were it belong, in the back of our minds.  But now, Megumi is seeing Kanyruu and you…"_

He looked down at Megumi with a frown.  So Kaoru hadn't been exaggerating.  Megumi was seeing her old nemesis again.  Nothing else would scare her this much.  

"Should we go back to the hotel?" Aoshi asked. Megumi hesitated for a minute before nodding.  "Let's get Misao and go."

"Misao?" Megumi asked, before realizing her mistake.  Aoshi looked at her with suspicion. "Oh… she was… ummm…"

"I think I saw her," Sano said quickly, seeing where this was going.  "In the store we just passed.  I'll go get her, you take Megumi back to the hotel."

Aoshi paused looking at Sano and then down at Megumi.  Reluctantly, he nodded and flagged a cab, loading her into the car and disappearing down the street.

Sano let out a deep sigh and looked around.  Okay, so Misao wasn't around here.  Hmmm… if I was like Misao where would I go?

Sano paused, suddenly getting an image of himself, jumping around with his hair in a braid and caffeine in place of blood.

If I was like Misao, my brain would kill itself after the first minute.

He chuckled to himself and started to stroll down the street just as he heard the crashing noise to his right.  While everyone ran away from the debris that was filtering out of the building, Sano head there at full speed.  

Surprised was not the word to use when he saw Misao stumbling out of the building.  He caught her with a sigh.  Apparently, today was his day to act as a knight in shining armor.

Misao coughed and looked up at him with a face filled with emotion similar to his.  

"What the hell happened?" Sano demanded.

Misao turned back towards the building and then looked at the roof.  No one was there.  She frowned wondering where Soujirou could have gone but it was obvious he knew how to take care of himself.

"It's a long story," she said looking at him.

"One I'm betting I won't hear," Sano frowned.  "And one I'm guessing neither will Aoshi."

Misao didn't have the heart to tell him he was right.

*           *           *

"He met with the spy girl."

"I know."

"What do you want to do?"

"Heat things up for them."

*           *           *

Kaoru yawned and leaned back in the chair, watching as the weary Japanese team made its way around the field.

"You think they'd give them a day to relax," Misao said unhappily watching them scatter around the field.

Kaoru shrugged.  "It's not a real game, just practice.  Besides, I was taught that when you travel, never let jet lag take over, just keep going from the moment you land."

"I guess so," Misao nodded.  

"So… what did you get today?"

"What?" Misao asked.

Kaoru frowned.  "Today, when you went shopping.  Not that you went shopping."  Misao tapped her foot on the ground guiltily.  "You need to be able to list a few things to him, make it up and check it with Megumi."

Misao blinked and looked up her.  "Can I ask you why?  Why did you guys step in…"

"Because we know it's the last time you'll ever do it."  Kaoru said firmly.  Misao stole a glance at the other girl, but Kaoru was already looking past her to the small group coming towards them.

"Hey," Sano said, plopping down into the seat exhausted.  Misao snatched the coke from him and took a swig of it.  

"Well, I'm glad to see everyone in such a great mood," he muttered as he turned to the field.  Aoshi and Megumi were still hiding out in the hotel. Kenshin looked confused every time he turned to Kaoru.  The little he got out of the redhead was that Kaoru wasn't talking about what was going on with the other two.  Even Misao was not as cheerful as normal.

"Yeah team," Sano said sarcastically as the started to take formation on the field.  Kaoru frowned and blinked away the last traces of concentration, standing up and cheering for her brother.

It took a while but the rest of them started to join in, temporary forgetting their troubles as the soccer teams battled each other on the field.  It was a rough game, a couple of yellow cards already being drawn before the first half ended.  And worse, they were losing by two goals.

Kaoru stood up and grabbed her jacket as the whistle sounded to end the half.  "I'm going to go talk to him."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Kenshin asked.

"It's all right," she smiled.  "I'll just take a couple of minutes."

Weaving out of the row, Kaoru jogged up the stairs and quickly followed the route to get to the locker room.  Security was pretty scarce but it was a non-competitive match, she shouldn't be surprised.  The stands had been half empty.

So why was she feeling unease in her stomach?

She found the right locker room and waited until the team started to file out.  She caught Yahiko and pulled him aside, shooting his coach a smile to let him know it would only take a minute.

"Come on, busu, I need to get back out there," Yahiko complained.

"Just give me a second okay," she said.  "I just wanted to talk to you."

"Why?  Tell me what I'm doing wrong?"

"No!  Why would you think that?"

"Because I am doing everything wrong," Yahiko said unhappily.  

Kaoru smiled and put a reassuring hand on him.  "You're not doing everything wrong."

"Yes I am."

"Stop whining!" Kaoru shouted.  "All right, so you let two goals go through.  But they had to get through ten other players.  Look, stop thinking about what happened before okay?  You have a whole other half to stop every goal that comes your way. And I'll be cheering for you up in the stands real loud.  So the worse you do, the more embarrassing things I'll start yelling."

"Yeah, like what?"

"Like… Do it for Tsubame!!"

"KAORU!" Yahiko yelled, blushing colorful and looking around to make sure no one else had heard.

Kaoru ruffled his hair with a sign.  "Your glove," she said pointing at it.  "Looks like the tread is coming off.  Do you have another one?"

"Yeah, inside," Yahiko frowned, heading back towards the locker room.  He stepped inside while Kaoru stood in the door frame.

"Hey busu?"

Kaoru's eyebrow twitched but she refrained from reacting.  He had a game to play after all.  "Yes?"

"Thanks," he said slamming the locker door shut.  Kaoru smiled.  He looked up at her as he pulled on his glove.  She saw his face change before she even felt the push but it still wasn't enough time to react.

"Kaoru!" Yahiko said, running to her fallen form on the ground.

"Owww…" she said pushing herself off the ground.  "What happened?"

"Some guy…" Yahiko stuttered.  "He just pushed you and…"

Kaoru stood up quickly and headed for the door.  No matter how hard she pushed, it wouldn't budge.  She banged on it a couple of times but no one answered.

"Kaoru…"

"What is it Yahiko?" she asked, whirling around at the fear in his voice.  And then she smelt it, a soft odor in the air that could only be one thing.  

"Fire," he said softly.

Kaoru quickly ran down the length of the locker room, searching for another exit and the source of the smell at the same time.  In the back corner, a laundry bin was spouting up flames.  But it wasn't the flames that surprised her.  She expected that.  It was the suspiciously placed barrels next to it.  

Two things came to her mind.  One, the fire was no accident.  And two, she had only a minute or so before whatever was in those cans ignited.


	4. Chapter 4

****

Chapter 4

Yahiko was the one who moved first, taking the fire extinguisher off the wall and rushing towards the flames. But Kaoru was quick to react, pulling him away and towards the shower stalls.

"The flames are too big!" she yelled.

Yahiko looked at her angrily as he threw the extinguisher to the ground. "You have a better idea?"

Kaoru blinked watching the extinguisher roll away to reveal the shattered tiles. She knelt down and started to pat the floor. She grabbed the metal cylinder from next to her and slammed it into the ground. More tiles shattered as she repeated the gesture over and over.

"What are you doing?" Yahiko yelled.

"Under the tiles!" she managed to yell in between smashing away.

Deciding his trademark arguing was not appropriate at the moment, Yahiko instead grabbed a nearby mop and used it as a lever to pull up tiles around Kaoru's smashing area.

Kaoru's eyes widen when she realized that under the tile were not layers of cement but wooden planks. Not bothering to wonder how old this part of the stadium was, she concentrated on pummeling the wood until it split.

The broken pieces of wood suddenly disappeared downward, hitting something that was obviously not solid. Looking down, Kaoru could barely make out her reflection at the bottom. 

Water!

"Yahiko, jump down the hole!"

"What?"

"JUST DO IT!"

He quickly dropped the mop and slid into the hole. "I'm stuck!" he cried trying to push himself down.

"I told you not to eat so much for breakfast!" Kaoru cried pushing down on his shoulders until he suddenly fell down. She followed suit, head first feeling the rush of flames on the soles of her feet as she cascaded down into the darkness.

***

The fire alarms suddenly sounded, startling everyone. Someone came on the loudspeaker to inform them to vacate the area. Even though it was in Italian, it was obvious what was being said.

Kenshin looked down onto the field, trying to see if Yahiko or Kaoru had made it back. But neither of them were in plain view. His brows furrowed as Sano pulled at his sleeve.

"Come on, we need to get out," Sano said.

"I just can't see…"

"They probably went outside as soon as the alarm sounded," Sano added quickly, reading his friend's mind.

Kenshin frowned slightly. That would make sense but… but why did he has this awful feeling in his stomach?

"I'm going to go look," he stated, shrugging off Sano's hand and bounding down the stairs. 

Sano sighed and looked at Misao with a sigh. She shrugged and quickly followed Kenshin down the stairs and over to the field, heading towards the locker room. She barely noticed Sano following silently behind her.

She also barely noticed the redhead hurtling towards her as the side of the stadium exploded. She dodged, which was quite a feat considering she was pushed back herself. Sano had managed to stay rooted in place, acting as a wall for Kenshin to slam into.

As soon as they regained their composure, all they could do was stare as the fire encompassed the wooden benches of the stadium and presumably two of their friends.

***

Megumi was attempting to sleep when she heard something. Slowly, she crawled out of bed and towards the window. Her eyes opened as she watched a slow black cloud push towards the sky.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she headed towards the door, knowing Aoshi would be doing the same thing. But her way was blocked but something rather firm.

"Hello."

Megumi froze. Somewhere her mind was attempting to tell her it was just another illusion. But the hot breath on her face slowly quieted the voice.

"Kanyruu," she said, her eyes wide open.

He smiled, glasses slowly pushing up his nose. "In the flesh."

She shook her head and stepped away but he caught her arm. Confusion flooded her face. "No, you're in jail."

"I got out."

"You're in Japan."

"I came here to see some friends."

"You're not real!"

"I'm as real as I've ever been," he said. "And you can't imagine the luck of finding my brilliant young chemist. I had a couple of people searching for you in Japan already but I guess that was unnecessary."

Megumi translated the words and realized what they meant. "I won't work for you again."

"Sure you will," Kanyruu said. "Because you're too afraid of what I can do to you."

Megumi heart began to beat. She knew he was right. She couldn't bear the thought of…

No. She wasn't sixteen anymore. She wasn't the same girl she was back then. She had survived him once, she was going to do again. And now, she had something she hadn't had back then.

She looked at Kanyruu, fire suddenly in her eyes. He balked a bit at the sight, not used to her fighting back. He paused, wondering if she was going to hit him. Not liking physical fighting one bit, he looked over to the shadows to warn the bodyguard hidden there.

But it was too late.

"AOSHI!" Megumi screamed, her voice so loud that Kanyruu pitched backward and covered his ears.

That's right, Megumi thought. I have something to fight you with now. Friends. More precisely, friends with guns and short tempers.

"You bitch!" Kanyruu said, stumbling back and letting the bodyguard coming towards her. "I'm going to be put you in that little box and keep you there until you…"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off abruptly as the pounding on the door echoed loudly behind him.

"Megumi!" Aoshi called from outside.

Megumi went to call again, but the bodyguard was there, hand wrapped around her neck. She panicked a bit, the air catching in her throat before she could speak. She was trapped.

Aoshi was still calling out to her but she couldn't respond. Kanyruu reached into his pocket and produced a gun, aiming it towards the door. Megumi squirmed furiously trying to get loose and warn Aoshi.

But the gun had already gone off.

***

Kaoru hit the water and the first thing she realized was that it was cold. The second was that it felt really gross. And third was that Yahiko was pulling at her feet to pull her under as the flames kissed the surface of the water. Her lungs were burning by the time the initial blast faded and she struggled to the surface, pulling Yahiko with her.

They coughed out the wretched substance and tread water as they moved away from the hole in the ceiling. As soon as they were clear of the flaming debris on the water, they could both marvel at their situation.

"What the hell is that smell?" Yahiko cried.

Kaoru looked around with a confused face. "I don't know… but it kind of smells like…"

"SHIT!"

"Yeah that."

"No I mean, I'm caught on something," Yahiko said struggling a bit.

Kaoru moved towards him and dove underwater, trying to see what he had snared. A few seconds later, she came up to the surface.

"Yahiko, I don't want to freak you out or anything so just stay still a second and don't look."

"Why?"

"Just believe me."

But Yahiko was already imagining what was on him. "What is it?" he cried, panic in his voice.

"Stay still!"

But his arms were flailing and water was being splashed about as he tried to dislodge himself. Before Kaoru could yell again, he was free and the thing that snared him floated to the surface.

"Don't look!" Kaoru ordered pushing him away. "Okay, it's not pretty so don't look."

Yahiko tread water as Kaoru moved forward and carefully turned the body around. The water had saturated the skin so the face was all bloated. It was impossible to tell who it was. There was no identification present and when Kaoru tugged a bit, she realized that a long chain attached the deceased foot to the ground. There was only one thing she could see, a large ring with a symbol of a snake imprinted on it. After a moment's hesitation she pulled it off and moved towards Yahiko.

"What was it?" Yahiko asked softly.

From the look on his face, Kaoru knew he had already seen. "Let's just get out of here."

***

The doorknob exploded as Aoshi shot out the lock. Kanyruu ducked and moved to the corner of the room as the stone-faced man walked in, gun raised parallel to the ground.

"Put her down!" he ordered the bodyguard.

"Put the gun down," Kanyruu started "or my man will…"

Aoshi fired and the man holding Megumi fell backwards taking her with him, a thin trail of blood pouring out of the center of his forehead. Kanyruu's opened wide as he stared at Aoshi.

Realizing he was going to be trapped, Kanyruu fired the gun towards Aoshi, forcing the man to duck from the door and opening up the escape route Kanyruu needed. Without wasting a moment, he scrambling out the door and into the hall.

Aoshi didn't bother with him, instead moving to free Megumi from the dead man's arms. He checked her breathing, finding it steady but faint and waited for her to wake up.

"Kan…" she started. "Gun…"

Aoshi frowned. "He's gone. For now. But he's not going to get far."

He helped Megumi sit up and the normal reserved doctor's face started to crack. "He was going to shoot you and I couldn't do anything to…"

"Megumi," Aoshi snapped. "It will be alright."

Megumi blinked and looked up at him. She nodded softly, letting only a sniffle escape her. It should have been enough that Aoshi was safe but… she just kept hearing Kanyruu's voice.

__

"I'm going to be put you in that little box and keep you there until you…"

Until what? she wondered. Until I cracked and worked for you again. Her mind slowly remembered the box, the darkness, the heat, the…

"Go take a cold shower," Aoshi ordered, ushering her towards the bathroom. "I'm going to call the others and figure this out."

Megumi nodded and headed towards the bathroom. Aoshi waited until he could hear the water running. He reached into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone when it rang instead. A second later, his ears were filled with a familiar voice.

***

"These catacombs date back to the Roman Empire. You can see evidence of the rituals associated with burial simply by looking at the… ah, yes, in the back," the tour guide said, pointing to a man in the back.

"Yeah, what the hell is that smell?"

The tour guide frowned. "Well, the catacombs are next to old sewer system but the walls should be able to prevent…" The guide paused and slowly put her hand to her nose. People started to cough and head towards the tour guide and away from the smell.

"Okay, I think we might have a small leak," the guide said, trying her best to remain cheerful. "Let's calmly move towards the exit."

"Busu!"

"Yahiko-CHAN!"

"BUSU!"

"YAHIKO-CHAN!"

The guide's eyes opened sharply as she watched the two people slowly crawled their way through a grate in the ground. People started whispering and it suddenly became apparent where the smell was coming from.

Kaoru noticed the group and let out a sigh. "I told you we'd find a way out."

"Feh, first a sewer and then an underground graveyard. I think I would have preferred being roasted alive."

Kaoru's fist clenched but she let the anger past. She needed to let everyone they were okay. She turned to the guide with a smile. "Phone?" she asked in broken English.

The guide looked at her and then back at her group who were still inching towards the door. Carefully she reached inside her pocket and retrieved her cell phone. Carefully, she extended her arm and handed it to the drenched girl, making sure that there was no skin contact between them.

"Thank you," Kaoru said, before dialing the number. "Damn, no reception."

"Well, duh," Yahiko replied motioning around. "We're in an underground tomb. Geez, Busu, didn't they teach you anything in school?"

The last bit of restraint faded and Kaoru's face went livid. "Shut up, Yahiko-CHAN!"

"BUSU!"

"YAHIKO-CHAN!"

They continued this way, heading towards the exit. The group in front of them quickly backpedaled and pilled out the door. The people still waiting outside panicked slightly, seeing the rush.

As soon as Kaoru and Yahiko emerged, everyone finally understood. Their clothes were stained unhealthy colors and the smell was unimaginable. The tourists started to distribute the story of how the two had emerged from the bottom of the catacombs after having obviously been through the sewer.

And then, the tourists did the one thing tourists are famous for. 

They took pictures.

"I hate cameras," Kaoru muttered before dialing again.

***

The taxi was moving too slow, Kenshin decided. His eyes looked into the mirror above the driver's head and the man caught the glint in his eyes. The car began to move a bit faster.

The driver made another prayer to another saint as he sped through the roads of Rome. He should have never stopped, he realized. But it was kind of hard when someone jumps in front of your cab, almost rips off the door to get inside and orders you to get to the catacombs as quickly as possible. The moment they came into the view, the driver began thanking every saint he had prayed to that he made it there without crashing or being mauled by the three people in the back of his cab.

Kenshin didn't bother to wait for the cab to come to as complete stop. He threw open the door and hit the pavement smoothly, moving swiftly past the crowd and towards the two people they were surrounding.

He saw her, talking angrily to Yahiko as if nothing had happened. But it wasn't something he could as easily ignore. The agonizing thirty minutes were there had been no word, no sign of life, nothing but the grim thought that he had lost her and…

"Kenshin!" Kaoru cried out seeing his tell tale hair poking through the crowd.

He didn't waste a moment rushing up to her and giving her a bear hug. She gladly melted into his arms, letting the impact of things finally catch up with her and then quickly disperse. It was amazing how he could do that for her.

It was also amazing how long he stayed there before he realized something was rather… 

"You guys are rank!" Misao yelled, standing away from them.

"Oi, jou-chan, did you go swimming in a toilet?"

"Shut up Sano!" Kaoru cried unhappily. At least Kenshin wasn't bothered by it. Or was he? He had tensed a bit and Kaoru sighed. "It's okay, you can say it."

Kenshin shook his head, determined not to ruin the moment by the fact that she smelled less than perfect.

"Kenshin," Kaoru stated. "You don't have to pretend you don't notice it."

He shook his head.

"Kenshin! You do laundry… everyday. You clean the house once a week. You can't pretend that you don't…"

That was about all he could take. He took a deep breath and strengthened the embrace. "It doesn't matter," he said firmly.

Kaoru was thrilled and leaned into him again. After a few minutes, she sighed. "You're going to have to breathe sometime, you know."

Misao sighed and turned away, dialing Aoshi's number to fill him in on what happened. He answered almost immediately and she quickly launched into what had happened, making sure he knew well in advance that Kaoru was okay.

"So don't come rushing over here," Misao said. "We'll be bringing them back to the hotel real soon."

"I need to talk to her," came Aoshi's reply.

"I told you she's fine."

"Just give her the phone," he ordered.

Misao frowned a bit but relented. There was something in Aoshi's voice that made her realize that she shouldn't push the issue. Turning around, she saw Kaoru on a wild 'Kenshin no baka' spree as the poor redhead sat on the ground getting pummeled, his restraint finally breaking.

"Kaoru," Misao said, coming in close. "Aoshi wants to talk to you."

Kaoru looked at the phone with a sigh and grabbed it from her. Her face quickly fell from annoyed to worried. "No, I understand, we'll be right there."

***

Kenshin sat on the bed, his hair still a bit damp from the shower he took. He turned over and looked at the clock realizing almost an hour had passed since they returned to the hotel. Aoshi had explained what happened but it seemed only Kaoru and Yahiko had fully understood. Leaving them behind to wash up, Aoshi had recruited Sano to do some rounds through the area and asked Misao to stay behind with Megumi.

Kanyruu. He knew the name. A drug lord, brought down several years ago by the Tokyo PD. But his connection to Megumi was a bit fuzzy. He knew from his first discussion with Gensai-sensei that she had been in trouble before meeting the Kamiyas. Perhaps that trouble was with Kanyruu.

There was a knock at the door and Kenshin walked over opening it and welcoming the sight of (a clean and jasmine smelling) Kaoru. She smiled a bit pointing at her wet hair.

"Took about a dozen shampoos but I think…" she trailed off with a shrug and entered the room, taking a seat in a chair by the window. Kenshin followed silently, moving to the hotel's coffee maker to make something warm to drink.

He turned around and found her in the exact same position, a wistful look out the window as the sunlight faded and the artificial lights of the city swelled and filled the sky. He put a mug in front of her, watching as she blinked and came back to life.

"Are you sure your okay?" he frowned.

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah… I've been through worse. Well, I think so anyway. I mean, I'll be fine," she smiled.

Kenshin nodded, knowing that she would bounce back. So if she wasn't worried about herself then it was rather obvious who she was thinking about.

"Megumi is alright?"

Kaoru nodded. "Sure. When I left, she and Misao were watching a bad soap opera on TV."

"Wasn't it in Italian?"

Kaoru laughed. "Yeah. I don't think it mattered though." She fell silent again and picked up the mug, looking into it. "You probably want to know what's going on."

Kenshin sat down on the bed without a word. "It might be helpful in trying to find Kanyruu."

Kaoru nodded. "I don't feel right about telling you this. You know we don't like to dwell on the past in our little group. But I know I can trust you not to tell anyone."

He nodded and reached out to take her hand. She looked at him and took a small sip. "See, it started with Megumi's family…"

***

Sano let out a deep breath as he walked down the hall. Half across the freaking city and not a trace of the bastard. The Italian police were on the hunt now, having identified the dead bodyguard as a member of one of the local Mafia families. Hotel security had been stepped up too so for the most part, everyone should be safe.

Well everyone but Kanyruu because the second he found that son of a bitch he was going to…

Sano's steps slowed as he reached the door of his shared room. It was opened a crack and he could laughter inside that could only belong to Kaoru. He stepped close, listening in to the conversation to make sure he didn't interrupt anything.

"I don't feel right about telling you this. You know we don't like to dwell on the past in our little group. But I know I can trust you not to tell anyone."

He frowned, about to step away from the door when he heard the next sentence Kaoru spoke.

"See, it started with Megumi's family. They were this genius family," she laughed. "Father was on his way to winning a noble prize in chemistry, mother was a brilliant geneticist. Their kids were all smart but it was their youngest daughter that had everyone excited.

"Megumi wasn't just smart, she was amazing. Her father used to read her chemistry books until she learned to read for herself. And from then on, she just sucked up everything she could find. Chemistry, math, biology, her parents could barely keep their library stocked with enough books.

"She was twelve when Tokyo University said that she should consider going there. It was a dream come true, really, and the media made a big deal about it."

There was a long pause and Sano shifted his feet slightly, wondering what the problem was.

"A few weeks after that happened, the media found itself covering another story about the family… only this one was…" 

"It's okay," came Kenshin's voice.

"There was a fire," Kaoru continued, her voice cracking a bit. "In the middle of the night, near the bedrooms. It completely consumed the place in under an hour. There were investigations afterwards and it was obvious it was set on purpose. But they could never figure out two things. Who had started it and what had happened to Megumi's body.

"Four years later, my father was working with the Tokyo PD and they broke Kanyruu's ring at their headquarters. One of the goons there told my dad that there was someone he had to help. So the guy took him to this room in the back.

"There was a large box there, placed on top of heating coils. He could crying and when he opened the box, he found Megumi in there."

There was a bit of silence as Kaoru composed herself a bit. "He found out later what had happened. Kanyruu had approached Megumi's father and asked him to devise a… super drug or something to sell on the black market. Of course, he refused and Kanyruu promised he would pay.

"So he and his goons set the fire. They never expected anyone to survive. Once the fire fighters had put out the flames, a couple of them went in disguised and found Megumi in the remains of a kitchen cabinet. I guess she went down to get something to drink and when everything happened, she hid there.

"They took her away before anyone realized what had happened. When they explained the situation to Kanyruu, he realized that she was the same girl from all the articles. And he realized he had someone who might be able to do what he wanted. Megumi might have been shocked by all that happened but she was still clear headed enough to refuse.

"So he devised a way to break her. A box, about the size of that cabinet, placed on heating coils so she could relive the day over and over again until she…" Kaoru trailed off. 

Sano was already walking away. He didn't need to hear the rest of it, he had a pretty good idea what was going on. And he realized that he wasn't just going to hurt Kanyruu when he found him. He was going to kill him.

***

"Venice?" Megumi asked, looking down at the ticket.

"Yes, first thing in the morning," Aoshi stated.

"I thought we were going to wait for Yahiko's games to be finished."

Aoshi shook his head. "With the fire at the stadium and all that happened in the hotel, they're moving the tournament to Treviso. You'll be able to go back and forth to see the games easily."

Megumi nodded. "So we're all going there?"

"I'll stay here with Misao for a while," Aoshi replied. "But everyone else will be going with you so you have nothing to worry about."

"I feel so… useless," she said under her breath.

He frowned not knowing what to say. But she stood up quickly and walked out the door, obviously not looking for an answer. She had made it half way back to the room before she ran into Sano.

"Watch where you're going!" she snapped.

"Sorry."

The world stopped for a moment. Megumi blinked. "What?"

"I said sorry."

"I know. Why the hell did you say it?"

Sano blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you being nice?"

"What… Why… ARGH! You are SO INFRUIATING!" Sano finally cried out.

And Megumi smiled a bit. "And don't you forget it," she said walking past him and into her room.

He watched after her with shock on his face. Geez, couldn't he see that he was just trying to make sure she was okay? 

And then, somewhere in the depth of his brain, a little voice came out, one rarely heard in Sano's brain. It was his common sense.

BAKA! it said. Of course, she knows what you were getting at! But you know what a proud person she is! The worse thing you could do is treat her any different because of what happened. She probably feels bad enough.

And Sano heard the voice and actually listened. He smirked and turned at her retreating form. "Oi, Megitsune!"

"What is it tori-atama?" she demanded, turning half way around.

"Next time you want to feel me up, don't pretend to run into me, just ask."

Megumi snorted and shot him one last look before disappearing her room. And in that brief look, he didn't just see her normal disdain but the bear hints of a smile.

***

****

Author's note : Well considering this is late as it is, I'll spare you much banter here. People have noted that this story is a bit darker then the others and I guess it's because I really wanted to tie up loose ends. Everything was hinted at in the past so now everything is coming out now. 

More chapters should come out pretty quick now that I'm over the holiday rush and everything. So I hope you'll see more fast and possibly a new story too. Just trying to decide between starting a comedy or a drama one first.


	5. Chapter 5

**__**

Chapter 5

A strange mixture of thick coffee and gasoline hung in the air as they entered the Rome train station. Most of the tournament players were already there, milling about the trains as their luggage was loaded. Stray piece of newspaper blew in the air as whistles scattered the buzz of conversation. 

"Now don't forget to wear your jacket when you go outside," Kaoru said, pulling Yahiko's coat over him. "And don't go outside unless you're with a chaperon."

"Remember to never take your eye off the ball," Kenshin continued, "and keep your defenders in line."

Yahiko rolled his eyes. "Okay, MOM, DAD." He watched as their faces turned red. He snorted. "You guys are too easy."

"Yahiko-kun! We have one more seat in our compartment!"

It was Yahiko's turn to blush before mumbling a good bye and heading towards Tsubame. Kaoru and Kenshin waved him off before turning towards each other with an embarrassed look. 

"I'd say you get used to his teasing but you don't," Kaoru smiled.

"That's for sure," Megumi said as she joined them. "Doesn't help when you give him fodder by acting like a married couple."

Kaoru face turned several shades of red before she managed to hiss out a 'Megumi!' and then laughing a bit as she shook her head. Megumi was right and Kaoru had no reason to be embarrassed anymore. 

Kenshin had a little oro look on his face and shrugged his shoulders a bit, settling on grabbing Kaoru's hand and pulling her towards the train.

"Oi! We have to share the compartment," Sano called out as he reached the group with Aoshi and Misao in tow.

"Oh they are going to have fun in Venice," Misao smiled, eyes glittering with stars. "Romantic gondola rides, long walks along Saint Mark's square, finding secret alleyways in the streets to share time along together…"

"Knowing Kenshin," Sano broke in, "it'll be more like falling into the water off the gondola, getting mauled by the pigeons in the square who think his hair would look nice in their nest, and getting lost in the maze of streets."

"Sano!" Megumi tried but she was already laughing. Inside the train, Kenshin let out a sneeze. "Really, it's not fair to tease him when he's not here to defend himself."

A train whistle sounded right behind them and Aoshi watched as the sign above the train flickered to show that the train was departing. 

"You need to go," he said simply. "We'll be in touch."

"Right," Megumi nodded. "See you guys later!" She walked towards the train, leaving Sano behind.

"OI! Who the hell is supposed to take you luggage aboard?" he called out. But she was already out of earshot.

***

Thirty minutes into the train ride, Sano was almost falling asleep as he watched the landscape roll by. Megumi had her nose in a book while Kenshin was watching Kaoru frantically search through her bag.

"Do you need help?" he finally ventured, watching as she put the bag down on the floor in disgust.

"I can't find something," Kaoru said. "Can you come with me to the luggage car to look for it?" Kenshin nodded and stood up, trying to gain his footing as the train lurched. He gave Kaoru his hand to steady her. They walked out of the compartment, letting the door slam behind them. As soon as they were gone, Megumi let out a snicker.

Sano looked over with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

Megumi looked at him from over the edge of her book. "You didn't fall for that too did you?"

Sano was perplexed. "Fall for what?"

Megumi shook her head. "I guess Kaoru was right."

"Right about what? What are you getting at fox?"

"You don't think she really lost something, do you?"

Sano looked at her. "She said she couldn't find something. What else could she mean?"

"That she wanted some time alone with Kenshin."

Sano shook his head. "That's the problem with women, they never say what they mean. Did she really think that Kenshin would say no if she said let's go find a quiet space and…"

"Knowing him?" Megumi put down her book and cleared her throat, pulling out her best Kenshin voice. "Demo, Kaoru-dono, the train is not steady, we might fall down and you could hurt yourself."

Sano looked over at her in surprise before his face broke out in a smile. "That was pretty good, megitsune."

Megumi smiled a bit. "So you can see why sometime we women have to resort to sneaky approaches."

"Except you," Sano replied. "You tend to be straightforward."

"I find it wastes time to joke around," she returned.

"Good approach. So why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"

Megumi blinked, realizing she was caught in a trap of her own making. "Nothing is bothering me."

"Really?" Sano asked. "I guess that page you've been starting at for the past twenty minutes must be real interesting."

Megumi glared at him a bit with a frown. "What would you care anyway," she settled on turning away and looking out the window.

Sano sighed and let his legs stretch out and rest of the opposite seat. "Right, after all I'm just a shallow, stupid ex-gangster."

Megumi didn't let her gaze drop. "You're not stupid," she said softly. 

"What?"

"You know what I said," she replied. "You said you went to Keio High so you can't be stupid."

Sano looked at her. He dredged up the memory he had told her about that and found it was almost a year old, right when they had met. "How did you remember that?"

Megumi crossed her arms. "How indeed. After all, I'm just a self-centered egomaniac. Right?"

"I never said that."

"But you thought it."

"Well you sure as hell haven't given me a reason to think otherwise," Sano yelled. And instantly regretted. "I meant…"

"You meant exactly what you said," Megumi interrupted. "I know how it is. Look, there goes Megumi, queen of the universe. She so high in the clouds she doesn't take the time to notice the peons running around her feet. Picks on the weaker ones but doesn't even know how to fight back if they ever did."

"I never said that," Sano repeated firmly.

"But you thought it," she replied again.

"No I didn't! Yeah, you're self-centered, yeah you think own the world. But I never thought you were mean or weak or anything like that."

"Maybe not consciously."

Sano clenched his fist. This was more infuriating then their usual banter. "Look, you can beat yourself up all you want, but don't drag me into it."

That finally broke Megumi's stone gaze to the window as she turned to face him. "What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm saying. You've dug yourself a little hole of self-pity and you want me to cover you up with the dirt. Well, it ain't happening."

"This isn't self pity!"

"Really? Who the hell else is telling you things like that?"

"They don't have to tell me! I know that's what they're thinking! I know they think I'm weak. I couldn't save myself back then and I couldn't…" Megumi trailed off, the sudden surge of anger burning out. 

"Couldn't what?" Sano asked, watching her.

Megumi turned back towards the window, biting her lip. Silence settled in the room before she muttered something softly.

"What?" Sano asked.

Megumi frowned and looked at him. "I said I couldn't warn Aoshi about Kanyruu's gun."

"He said you were in a headlock."

Megumi shook her head. "It shouldn't have mattered. If it had been anyone else…"

"Okay, so you tend to have friends who fight like demons. Doesn't mean you have to be the same."

"You don't understand," Megumi sighed. "Kaoru taught me some self defense and it works okay in most conditions. But I forgot everything when Kanyruu stepped in the door."

"That's not about techniques," Sano said. "It's about confidence. It's hard to have that when you're face with something that you're afraid of."

"None of you guys are afraid."

"That's not true," Sano retorted. "We all get scared of things sometimes."

"Like what?" Megumi asked, skeptically.

"Well for Kenshin… it's Kaoru. She terrifies him sometimes."

Megumi stifled a laugh. "I don't think that's the effect she's going for."

"Doesn't matter," Sano smiled. "To him, she's this perfect girl who never had to deal with half the shit he did and she's still interested in him. He's so ready for her to just drop him when she gets it through her head what he used to do."

"Kaoru wouldn't do that. And besides, that's not the point."

"Sure it is. Come on, how many times has he been in a fight where Kaoru was hanging in the balance. But he's always won no matter how worried he was that something would happen and he would lose her. That's not just his skills."

Megumi sat quietly a bit, not quite ready to give up the argument. "And you? What are you terrified of?"

Sano looked at her. "Me… well… nothing."

Megumi snorted. "There goes your argument then." Sano sighed and muttered something under his breath. "What was that?"

"I said I was afraid of spiders, okay?"

Megumi looked at him, trying to contain her laughter. "You mean to tell me that if in a fight, a spider dropped down from the ceiling, you'd freak out?"

Sano frowned. "No. But that's because I have confidence."

"Yes, confidence that you can defeat something that's not even the size of your pinky toe."

"Oh just forget it!" Sano huffed. "Remind me never to try to help you again." 

Megumi smirked a bit and let the conversation lap into silence before she finally got the courage to ask her next question. "So how do you get confidence?"

Sano shrugged. "Practice helps. And facing your fears."

Megumi smiled. "So you don't panic around spiders anymore then?" 

Sano frowned. "I knew I was going to regret that."

"I'll make sure that only everyone knows about it," Megumi replied.

There conversation fell into silence again, the rhythmic sound of the train over the tracks slowly lulling them into a peaceful state. Sano's eyes were starting to close and even Megumi was struggling to stay awake.

"Oi, megistune."

"Hai, tori atama."

"I might not be able to help you face your fears but I can give you a chance to practice your fighting."

Megumi quickly blinked awake and looked over at him. He was staring at her through half closed eyes but was clearly awake. She nodded a bit and couldn't help but to let out a smile as his eyes fell fully asleep.

***

"So what do you need to find?" Kenshin asked as he looked around trying to find her luggage. Probably wasn't smart to check everything in, he thought as he looked at the mass of luggage that was piled up in the small cart in the back.

Kaoru smiled and reached up, wrapping her hand around his ponytail and pulling him back.

"Oro?" he said, falling backwards.

"Baka," she smiled. "I didn't want to 'find' anything."

He looked clueless. "Well then we should get back. The train is not steady and we could fall down and…"

"And I could hurt myself," Kaoru replied.

"Aa… demo…"

"Looks like owe Megumi another thousand yen."

"Oro?"

"Just forget it."

"I don't think I should," Kenshin frowned, "since your obviously upset about something."

Kaoru bit her lip and tried to think about how to best broach the subject. But as her mind began to whirl, her eyes caught sight of something. A briefcase with a tiny brand on its side. Slowly she followed the blackened mark around the brown leather until she finally understood.

"Snake," she said under her breath.

That did nothing to clear things up for Kenshin. Instead, he watched helpless as she pushed past him and towards the briefcase. He watched as she reached into her pocket and produced a ring, lining it up next to the brand.

"They're the same," Kaoru whispered.

"Where did you get that ring?"

"It was on a body in the sewer," she replied softly.

"A what?" Kenshin asked, realizing she had left a couple of things out of her story.

"It's not important right now," Kaoru said. "What is important is…"

The door slid open and something in the air just made Kenshin move. Without a word, he quickly pulled Kaoru down to the ground and behind a pile of baggage. One look to her made he realized she felt the same thing. Something was definitely not right.

They were speaking Italian, a language which neither of them understood but from the tones it was not laid back chit chat. The door opened once more and someone walked in. One of them sounded frantic and suddenly there was a barely audible pop in the air.

Kaoru's eyes flew open as one of the men dropped to the ground, lifeless eyes staring at them. The new person stepped forward, heavy boots hitting the ground as he did. A long jacket swished across the ground. Kenshin tightened his grip on Kaoru's arm. 

"Toss the body out the back."

"Yes sir."

The man reached down to pull the body and Kenshin realized two things. One was that he was wearing a ring on his hand exactly like the one Kaoru had. And second was that by leaning down the gangster suddenly caught sight of them.

Before the thug even had a chance to react, Kenshin was on the move, pulling Kaoru with him as he moved towards the end of the cart. Gunshot exploded around him, sending tatters of luggage into the air. He pulled open the door at the end, pushing Kaoru outside first.

The cold air hit her first and she barely caught herself on the rail at the end of the train. Looking down all she could see was the blur of tracks as the sped backwards and into the horizon.

"Go up!" Kenshin said, pushing her towards the small ladder. He turned and watched the door they had just exited. It opened slightly but he kicked it closed again and then moved out of the way as a hail of gunfire ripped through it.

Seeing that Kaoru had made it up, he quickly grabbed the rail and vaulted upwards, grabbing on to the side of the training and hauling himself up on to the top train. Kaoru had crouched down, fighting against the wind as it pushed against her small frame. He wrapped an arm around her waist and started to walk with her.

"Can you stay here?" Kenshin yelled as he got her to the middle of the train. Kaoru nodded and steeled herself.

Kenshin turned around and stood up, already anticipating the two figures pulling themselves onto the train. One looked Italian, in a tailored suit that made him appear too much like a Mafioso to be anything but that. But it was the second man that made Kenshin's blood start to boil.

"Cho," Kenshin started, watching the blonde man look at him.

"Himura," Cho called out. "How nice to see you."

Kenshin frowned. Why did the Juppongatana always have to show up? He watched as Cho pulled out a sword and motioned to his comrade. The gangster nodded and started to walk forward, crouched down while Cho strode confidently forward.

"I would offer to lend you one of my swords but I am rather attached to them," he smiled. Kenshin frowned, realizing what it meant. 

A second later, a sword snaked out from behind Cho and headed right towards him. Kenshin jumped to avoid it and suddenly found himself almost three feet from where he had started.

It brought him closer to Cho, letting the other man take a sword from his side and charging Kenshin. The redhead moved quickly, bending backwards so he was parallel to the ground and the sword passed above him. His hand snapped forward, wrapping Cho's wrists, and he stood up, bending his adversary's arms painful back until his hand opened and the sword dropped.

Kenshin caught it on his foot and pushed Cho backwards, reaching down to grab the sword. Cho looked at him furiously, realizing that not only was Kenshin now armed, he was armed with one of his swords.

But Cho's upset face slowly faded into a smile. During the small fight, his henchman had managed to snake closer to the girl and was about to grab her. Kenshin turned around to see what was going on but he couldn't react as Cho launched another attack. His chest constricted a bit when he realized Kaoru was in danger but there was nothing he could do.

Kaoru looked up, watching the Italian man talk to her and reach into his pocket to pull out a gun. Her leg muscles tensed as she prepared herself to fight. She felt like a feather in the breeze as the inertia of the train threatened to throw her off. Keep you feet planted on the train and you'll be fine, she told herself.

The man pulled out his gun just as Kaoru stood up. He brought it up to her face and she smacked the hand away. His hand flew backwards as the wind caught it and she watched his face contort as his shoulder was stretched to its limit, the gun flying from his grip. She didn't need to understand the language to know whatever he was spouting at the moment was not pretty.

He started throwing punches and Kaoru blocked them all. But he threw them in such rapid succession that she wasn't able to get a single blow in. A few minutes of this though, she suddenly saw something that was much more dangerous then the man in front of her. 

"KENSHIN!" she screamed, seeing him fighting valiantly against Cho.

He caught her eye and looked, suddenly realizing what she saw. With wide eyes, he tried to do something but Cho was already on the attack.

***

"So where do we start?" Misao asked.

Aoshi moved wordlessly into the room and pulled out a suitcase. He opened it and pulled out two wetsuits, throwing one towards her.

"Kaoru found a body in the sewers. I want to go check it out myself."

Misao nodded slowly and watched as he started to pull off his shirt. She frowned a bit, knowing that this was not Aoshi's normal coldness. There was something different about this. She walked forward and put a hand on his bare arm. The iciness of his arm alarmed her a bit but not as badly as the intensity in his eyes as he looked at her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice suddenly very small.

He kept looking down at her and suddenly broke his glance away. "I will be fine when we catch Kanyruu."

Misao nodded. "We will. But… is that all that's bothering you?"

He looked back at her with a nod. "Yes."

Misao bit her lip, knowing he was lying. So she softly wrapped herself around him and let her warmth soak into his cold skin. "I don't believe you," she whispered. "But I know you won't tell me. Whatever it is, it will be all right."

He closed his eye tightly for a moment before he let his arms wrap her and nodded softly. 

***

Kenshin tried to say something but Cho was relentless. 

"LISTEN TO ME," Kenshin yelled.

"Stop trying to distract me," Cho retorted, attempting another attack.

Kenshin's patience was about worn out. This fight was unnecessary and he obviously had bigger things to worry about then Cho. 

"I'm trying to tell you…"

"Just shut up!" Cho interrupted before launching another attack.

Kenshin's patience broke. He waited for Cho to jump up in an attack and then moved to follow. Both in the air, Kenshin blocked Cho's attack and threw up a kick, connecting with Cho's exposed midsection. It was a solid blow and without anything to steady himself, Cho flew backwards, over the edge of the train and onto the tracks. 

Kenshin spared him a glance to make sure he was still alive before heading towards Kaoru.

"KAORU!" he yelled, watching her block another attack while yelling at the guy.

"He's not listening!" she yelled back.

Kenshin frowned and moved towards the fight. But fighting against the wind was proving more tiring after a fight and the disaster was inching closer. He wasn't going to make it in time.

Kaoru obviously realized that and she shot him a glance, her eyes telling him to get ready. He nodded and she lifted a foot off the ground. The roundhouse kick was quick but low so the blow landed on his side, unbalancing the gangster and sending him over the edge of the train, scraped by the gravel around the tracks, but alive none the less.

The kick did exactly what Kaoru was afraid off. Without both feet on the ground, the wind pushed her easily and she lost her balance, thrown towards the end of the train. Kenshin caught her as she came towards him and let the force of her push him backwards so that he landed on his back.

The tunnel suddenly tore over their heads, the low ceiling only inches away. Kaoru clutched him tightly, not daring to look up. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about what was going on around them. 

***

Twenty minutes after they left, Kaoru and Kenshin finally dragged themselves back into the car, clutching the briefcase as they did. Megumi and Sano looked at them with shocked expressions. That was to be expected. Their clothes were disheveled, their hair was falling across their face and both barely had a breath to spare between them.

Kaoru and Kenshin ignored them, dragging themselves towards the seat where they curled up against each other and just fell asleep, leaving Megumi and Sano to stare in complete disbelief.

***

Misao's nose wrinkled. She wasn't sure if it was the sewage around them or the decaying body barely visible in the murky depths that made it so bad. She treaded away and back towards where she had left Aoshi, the flashlight on her head sweeping towards the other beacon of light.

"Found it!" she called out.

Aoshi's light turned towards her and she saw it bob up and down in a nod. Misao moved towards the body, looking at the bloated hand that was just poking out of the water. It was really grotesque, this single white hand trying to reach for the surface. 

Watching it, though, she realized that it wasn't moving at all, even as her feet made currents in the water around the rest of the body. Kaoru had said it was tied to the bottom of the sewer so it should still be moving back and forth as she approached it.

She realized her mistake too late. The wire was invisible and the only indication it was there was when it moved in the water creating small ripples. Misao froze, realizing it was a trap and turned to warn Aoshi.

Before she could, though, she heard something pop. Her movement in the water had been enough to set over whatever trap had been set. But there was no explosion, no rapid gunfire… what kind of trap was this?

Ten feet away from her, she heard three distinct plops in the water. Looking the direction of the noise, she watched as the water began to move in a pattern, three esses across the otherwise placid surface.

It took a moment to realize what the source was but the moment she did, Misao started to scream. Three water snakes were skimming the surface of the water as they headed straight towards her.

***

****

Author notes: ARGH! Anyone else feel like they barely have enough time to write a chapter let alone thank all the wonderful reviewers who take the time to say great job? I always feel like that. But I'm going to try.

JML : I read your updated story and it's great. But stop updating when I'm on vacation. Thanks for the constant reviews, there are much appreciated.

Vesca : I think that would have been a good scene too ^_^ And happy new year to you too!!

nemo : Hope things are cheerier for you. The trinket is explained in this chapter obviously.

kodachi&kuni : yes, please go to Pedatrics, it is rather important ^_^

Omochi : Yeah, he is a bad man… but we all know what happens to bad men when our heroes get a hold of them.

Gochan : No cookie for you!! BAD, Gochan. Now go update a story or something… kidding!!

Gemin16 : Cameras are the devil for poor Kaoru.

JadeGoddess : Right… Sou-chan… hmmm… I wonder if he should be good or bad…

Chri : What a great review. Thanks soooo much!

Ayce Shade : *nods in agreement* Okay… till next time then! Thanks again everyone ^_^


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Three prongs of the devil were coming straight at her and Misao couldn't do anything. All the training went out the window when she was suddenly faced with her childhood fear. 

But before the three snakes could attack her, Misao found herself surrounded by water and two firm hands. She turned her head around and looked up at Aoshi, the light on her head catching his profile in the dark water. He was looking up, watching as the snakes swam past.

Misao tugged at his sleeve as her oxygen ran out and he quickly kicked back to the surface. He pushed her behind him as she started gasping for air. The snakes were still moving away, having lost their original prey but sensing ripples in the water from rats swimming ahead.

"Misao, go back outside," Aoshi ordered, pushing her towards the ladder.

"What about you?"

"I'm right behind you."

Misao nodded and started to swim towards the exit. Aoshi made sure she was looking ahead before he turned back to the body. Mentally, he cursed at himself for not realizing that when Kaoru was photographed outside the catacombs, the people responsible for this would realize the body had been exposed. 

He reached down at his ankle and retrieved the knife there. One quick check for Misao saw her light slowly receding into the darkness.

"Aoshi!" she called, her voice echoing off the walls.

"I'll be right there," he responded, turning back to the body.

Taking the floating hand in his, he began to slice through the dead man's finger. After some pulling, he finally managed to separate it. Without sparing a second look, he swam away, headed after Misao.

The catacomb walls seemed to crawl as Misao's head light swung across them. Shadows writhed back and forth and no matter how many times Misao told herself that she was being ridiculous, she could still feel the edge of panic creeping up into her. This place with a tomb… it had almost been her tomb. And she was completely terrified.

"Let's move," Aoshi said, passing her by and walking towards the exit. Misao waited a beat as she considered whether she should tell him what she was feeling. Deciding it might be better to voice her fears outside of this place, she quickly followed him to the surface and towards the black rental car.

She was stripping off the wetsuit when she tried to talk to him. But he was lost in thought, a bit of anger etched on his face. Silently she stepped into the car and turned on the ignition, letting the heat hit her and seep into her skin. The chill was still there.

As soon as he entered the car, she released the parking brake and reversed the car. The traffic was light so Misao was not forced to focus all her attention on driving. Besides, she had a death grip on the wheel and if she didn't calm down, she'd have an accident.

"Aoshi," she said quietly.

"Kaoru," Aoshi said quickly into his cell phone. "Are you all right?"

Misao watched him have a quick conversation with Kaoru, quickly determining that they had already run across trouble. He barked a few orders and shut the phone down. Not saying anything more, he stared out the window.

Misao followed the road back to the hotel and pulled to a stop in front of the door. Aoshi stepped outside and closed the door of the car, turning towards the doors. Before he could react, the car squealed and Misao pulled away at full speed.

***

"I understand… I said I'd be careful! Okay, fine, we'll meet you at the station."

Kaoru slammed the phone shut and tossed it on the bed. Megumi looked at her with a raised eyebrow and sighed. She didn't need to ask who the call was from. And she could hardly disagree with Aoshi's chastising. After they finally related the story, Megumi was sure she agreed with whatever Aoshi had just said.

"He's so… so…"

"Right," Megumi completed.

"What?"

"Whatever he said is right," Megumi said firmly. "You know that."

"It doesn't mean I have to like it," Kaoru muttered, crossing her arms.

Megumi rolled her eyes. "You never like it."

"He's so overprotective!"

"And he'll never change, so get used to it," Megumi replied. "He's always going to worry. And he's probably going to blame Kenshin when he gets here."

Kaoru sighed. "It wasn't his fault," she finished sitting on the bed, letting his feet dangle off the edge. "Not like Aoshi'll care. He never likes it when…" Kaoru trailed off.

"He's getting worse, isn't he?"

Kaoru nodded. "What with Misao, I guess he keeps thinking the same thing will happen with her that happened with his mom."

"But he's not five years old," Megumi retorted. "And Misao isn't going to just abandon him for another guy. She's attached to him by the hip."

Kaoru shrugged. "Doesn't make it different in his mind. I mean, his mother just left him with a friend after his father died and had another family with another guy. People don't get over things like that. I keep telling him, Misao won't do that. That I wouldn't just leave him if I ever got…" 

Kaoru trailed off as Megumi's eyes widen open. "Wait a minute… what were you just about to say?"

Kaoru blushed and put a strand behind her ear. "Nothing," she said.

"Oh… wait a minute, I sensed that you were about to say a word," Megumi said, standing up and putting a hand to her forehead. "I sense that… Kaoru is not telling me something."

"I'm not!" Kaoru cried indignantly before realizing she had fallen in deeper.

"I'm sensing that someone was thinking about the 'm' word…"

Kaoru grabbed a near by pillow. "I was not," she said chasing after Megumi with it.

The older woman ducked and grabbed her own pillow. "Kaoru wants to get married, Kaoru wants to get married," she sang, dancing around Kaoru's blows.

Kaoru made contact with Megumi's head and she cried out indignity. "Tanuki, that actually hurt."

Kaoru leaned forward to see the damage and Megumi followed with a quick pillow hit to the face. Kaoru gasped in surprised and looked at her.

"Oh… you are so getting it for that," Kaoru cried, chasing after her. Megumi laughed and quickly ducked as Kaoru pitched a pillow at her. They were so caught up in their game that they did not notice the door opening to their room. 

"Ororororo…"

Megumi and Kaoru looked over at where Megumi's pillow had just landed and burst out laughing. Kenshin had been taken by surprise and was sprawled on the floor. An amused Sano looked down at the fallen redhead.

"Che," he said reaching down and pulling Kenshin up to his feet. "We were going to get you so we could grab lunch downstairs. But I think you need sometime to get ready."

He closed the door and Megumi and Kaoru looked at each other. A second later, they erupted into laughter again.

***

"Che… women. One moment they're all serious and upset, the next they're acting like five year olds."

Kenshin smiled at Sano's remarks and took a sip of water. He was glad to see them laughing. Lately everyone had seemed so down, which was not surprising considering the events that had occurred on this trip. Kaoru worse then most of them. She had to worry about Yahiko, Aoshi, Megumi and… well, him too.

She didn't have to voice the concern, he could see it in her eyes. The clueless act got him out of things most of the time but as they got closer, he knew she wasn't falling for it anymore. They were reaching the point where he knew that things were going to start to change. 

It getting serious and as the days went by, he began to realize something. The fear he had that she would leave him because of what he had done in the past was slowly fading. Now it was a greater fear that she would leave him because of who he had become. It was easier to take rejection because he was a killer. He knew that anyone in their right mind should do that.

But what if what he was now, wasn't enough? How was he supposed to keep going if she ever rejected this side of him? 

The smart thing to do would be to get out first but he knew he'd never be able to do that. The second was… well… maybe to take a chance and see if maybe they couldn't find a normal life in a little house in the suburbs with…

"Oi, Kenshin? What's with the goofy look on your face?"

Kenshin coughed and turned away, shaking his head. "Nothing, Sano. I was just thinking."

"About jou-chan?"

"Aa."

"Thinking of asking her to marry you?"

Kenshin choked on the mouthful he had just taken and looked up at Sano with surprise. Sano just sighed and put his feet on the table. "Che, you're too easy to read."

"Sano… it's not like that, it's… difficult."

"Hai, anything involving women is difficult," Sano replied.

"That's only because you men make it so hard."

Sano blinked and looked up at the young woman standing in front of their table. Her hands were on her hips and she stared at them unhappily.

"Sorry?" Sano said.

"I said you make things difficult," she said.

"Who are you?"

The woman cleared her throat. "My name is Solita, one of the waitresses here," she smiled. "Would you like some coffee to start?"

"Sure," Sano said slowly.

"Great! Hey, Marina, three coffee over her, make mine decaf!" She turned the two guys. "I'm trying to cut down."

Solita reached forward and grabbed Sano's feet, pulling them off the table and dropping them to the ground. "Okay, here's the story," Solita started.

"Ah… excuse me," Kenshin started, "but we have a couple of people joining us and…"

"Good, then I'll make this quick since you too are obviously completely lost," Solita said, taking the cup of coffee and putting it in front of her.

"I've lived her for five years," she said, "and I'm getting sick of people coming to a completely romantic place like this and blowing every chance at furthering their relationships because they're idiots."

"OI!" Sano called out indignantly. 

"Look, let's face it," Solita said turning to Sano, "you obvious have no skills in dealing with women. You probably insult the one you really like because you never evolved past the kindergarten approach of things."

Kenshin laughed a bit into his cup and pretended to clear his throat after Sano shot him a death glare. "Listen here, jou-chan," Sano stated, "I'm not the one who needs to do 'evolving'. Its women who never gives us any idea of what we're supposed to do!"

"You need an instruction book?" Solita asked. 

"Considering how unreadable your sex is most of time… YES!"

Solita sighed, Kenshin looked like he wanted to crawl under the table, and Sano was very flustered.

"No you don't. You just make it too difficult," Solita said. "The solution is the same for both you. Now follow closely, because I know this is novel idea and all. Ready?" Both men looked her with furrowed eyebrows as she scanned around the place, leaned in and whispered the next statement.

"Just tell them how you feel."

Solita sat back and took a sip of coffee. She frowned a bit. "Damn, it's not decaf," she stood up and looked around. "Hey, Marina! I thought I said decaf!"

The other waitress looked at her strangely. "Decaf? What's that?"

Solita sighed and wandered off to lecture her friend on the existence of non-caffeinated drinks, leaving the two men to just stay after her in confusion. Before they could say anything more, the two girls joined them.

***

Misao slammed on the car door shut and walked into the café. She was early, she knew that, but she needed to get away, even if just for a second to clear her mind. If she had stayed, she would have just said something she regretted.

Misao understood, or at least she told herself she did. Kaoru and Megumi were important to Aoshi. She didn't want to replace them, she wanted to be something more. And maybe that's why it hurt that she had been completely terrified and he had been more worried about the other two.

"You look freezing."

Misao blinked and looked at the back table, coming eye to eye with a smiling face. She balked a bit before sitting down across from Soujirou. She was even more surprised when he handed her his coat.

"Thank you," she said mutely. 

"You seem to have come here in a hurry," he smiled. Misao frowned and looked away. "Something is wrong," he stated firmly.

"Nothing's wrong," she replied put her hands on the table.

A second later, his hands covered her. She looked up into his shining eyes and was startled to find compassion in them. What was going on? He was a member of the Juppongatana, a notorious killer! Why was he looking her like that?

"It's all right to be afraid," Soujirou said with a smile. "Everyone is afraid of something."

She looked up at him. "Even you?" she asked softly.

His smile faltered a bit and he pulled his hands away. "You're not staying in Rome," he said firmly. "The rest of your friends have already left."

"How do you…"

"If I know it, then the Juppongatana do," Soujirou said firmly. "I will meet you in Venice in two days."

Misao nodded and stood up slowly. She walked out to the car and mechanically drove it back to the hotel. Aoshi was there in the lobby, watching her come in and staring in confusion at the jacket around her shoulders.

***

"Higher megitsune!"

"Sano… oof… if you… oof… call me that… oof… one more time!"

Sano slowly lowered the pillow and looked over at Megumi. She took a few deep breaths and put her hands on her knees, feeling the cotton fabric of the sweatpants absorb the moisture from her hands.

"That was pretty good. But stop punching so low. You're not going to do any damage punching at their chest," Sano replied. "Either hit the stomach or the neck. You're a doctor, you should know that."

Megumi glared at him. "I'm sorry if I was taught how to put my knowledge of anatomy towards helping people."

"It gives you an advantage on most fighters," Sano retorted. "You know how to hurt them without doing real damage."

Megumi frowned a bit. "I guess that could work."

Sano nodded and tossed the pillow on to the bed. "We can stop there for the night. We should probably get some dinner."

"I'm starving," Megumi agreed.

Sano paused and looked at her. Megumi caught his look and raised an eyebrow. "Uh…" he started. "Maybe we should go out… to a nice place or something."

Megumi was startled. She looked at him, looking for a glimmer of insincerity or humor or anything to indicate that he hadn't just asked her out on a…

"Take some pictures," Sano added. "You know, for your colleagues back home."

Megumi's face never faltered but she nodded quickly, muttering something about taking a shower before hand. She walked into the bathroom and turned the water on full blast. She turned to face the mirror and just shook her head. 

What had she been expecting? A date? Sure there had been some bonding in the past couple of days, but let's not forget the true reason for this trip. She needed to give her colleagues some proof about their marriage. And then when she got home, she'd file for divorce, tell them he had slept with someone here and then it was over with.

Because that's the thing to do? Right?

The only response she got was a dim reflection in the fogged over mirror.

***

"It's so beautiful!"

Kenshin smiled as he watched Kaoru marvel over the glassware in the store. She reached out to touch a small crystal cat and he made a note of it to pick up later.

"There is demonstration upstairs," the shopkeeper said in broken English, pointing upstairs.

Kenshin nodded and put his hand on Kaoru's waist giving her a slight push towards the door before she saw the larger sized glass cat that he wouldn't be able to afford even if he worked for five months straight. She giggled as she felt him push her and headed up the stairs to see what was there. 

A large oven burned brightly in the middle of the room, increasing the temperature by several degrees. A small crowd of tourists stood around a soot covered man who was holding a long metal rod with a bit of molten glass at the top.

He put it in the first and began to twirl the rod, explaining briefly about how the glass was heated and spun to create a basic shape. He pulled out the glowing rod and brought it towards the crowd. 

Kenshin watched as the man arced it towards him. There was something wrong. The man was saying one thing, but the glass was not a shape. It was just a lump on the end of the staff. His instincts took over immediately and he push Kaoru out of the way as the molten glass came hurtling straight at them.

Kenshin spun away and headed towards the glass blower, watching as the man's face changed into rage. He swung his weapon again and Kenshin felt it hit his hair. The ends of red were suddenly encased in glass.

Kaoru didn't say a word, didn't even wonder what was going on. She reacted, quickly pushing the tourists down the stairs and yelling at the owner to call the police. Turning, she hefted a spare metal rod in her arms.

"Kenshin!" she called throwing it at him.

He grabbed it and struggled under its weight for a moment before gaining his balance. Slowly, he spun the rod like a Bo and got ready to defend himself. His opponent snarled and charged forward, the metallic clang almost deafening them both as Kenshin countered.

Kaoru moved towards the back of the room, looking for anything that might be of use. She pulled at the door of a closet and fell backwards as a body fell on top of her. Kaoru's eyes opened wide as she struggled from underneath it. Turning it over, she saw a man dressed similarly to the one fighting Kenshin. It must be the real glass worker, Kaoru realized as she started searching him for anything useful. 

Kenshin was doing well considering that he hadn't trained with a Bo in several years and that his opponent had the advantage of a molten end to really hurt him. He was concentrating on blocking any attack from that end and the result was that his opponent was landing quite a few blows with the other end of the staff.

Battered and bruised, Kenshin was getting angrier by the minute. His eyes started flashing to amber and he attacked with speed that the other man couldn't hope to counter. But just when it seemed Kenshin was assured victory, he felt his staff get stuck in the molten mess at the end of his opponent's. He pulled at it but the glass was already cooling and the two staffs were determined to stay stuck together.

Kenshin and his opponent looked at each other in surprise. And then continued to pull on their end of the rod. The tug of war lasted a few moments before they both realized how ridiculous it was. Dropping the rods, they attacked each other with hands and feet.

The man was Italian but he's training in the martial arts was superb. Each punch and kick was thrown in rapid succession leaving Kenshin no time to get in an offensive attack. He concentrated on blocking, knowing that no matter what skill the other man possessed, he would get tired eventually.

Finally there was a hole in his attack and Kenshin used it, a swift punch to the nose to get his attention, followed but a low cut to his stomach and finally a leg swept sending the man crashing to the ground.

Kenshin waited for the next attack but his opponent was out cold. Kenshin took in a deep breath and let his anger abate a bit.

"Kaoru are you all right?" he called, looking over at the open closet door. But there was no one there. "Kaoru?"

He walked over slowly, seeing the dead body and making the same connection she had. He looked into the closet but it was empty.

"Kaoru?" he called to the room. He was about to run downstairs when saw it. A long strand of black hair was on the floor, coiled up like it was a snake. His heart stopped and he knelt down, picking it up gingerly and smelling in the faint traces of jasmine.

***

Author's note : I get to whine here because it's my story. I really struggled with this chapter. I had to be sort of a bridge to what's going to be building up to the main climax and for whatever reason, I just couldn't get it written. Now that it's done, I like maybe about 10% of it.

Sigh, apologies for a lackluster performance in this one. Hopefully the next couple of chapters will be better.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note : ** Bleh... authoress is wicked sick. Apologies to anything that doesn't make sense. I'm going for a huge cup of hot cocoa right now. Chapter 7 

Saying she had a headache didn't come close to what she felt. It was like a hundred tiny pins were embedded behind her eyes and mercilessly hitting every nerve. It took her several minutes just to open them and the light made her cringe slightly.

Finally things began to come into focus. Kaoru uncoiled a fist and felt rope dig into her wrist. Moving her ankles revealed the same thing. She experimented with arching her back only to find that it was latched to the back of a chair as well.

She sat back with a sigh and tried to remember what happened. One minutes she was watching Kenshin fight, a dead body at her feet, an open closet door and then… darkness. Someone had kidnapped her… again.

"Shit," she said, resorting to curses to express her frustration.

"I have to agree."

Kaoru froze. The voice was right behind her. Something shifted across her back and she realized that the person was sitting on a chair right behind her. Someone with a familiar smelling perfume. And a familiar voice.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Kaoru said softly.

"What's the matter?"

"Of all the luck," Kaoru mumbled.

"What?"

"Okay, let's get one thing straight," Kaoru stated angrily. "I don't know what you want with Kenshin but he won't do it! Why can't you just leave him alone?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, like you haven't tried using me as leverage against him before!"

"Actually… no I haven't personally."

"Fine, then let me go!" Kaoru cried.

"Well… I would if I could."

"What?"

"Look over your shoulder."

Kaoru shifted slightly and turned to see a mass of black hair. She slowly followed it down to where the other woman's hands were. A rope bound her wrists to the chair. It took a minute for Kaoru to realize what the meant. And before she could stop, she started to laugh.

"It's not funny," the other woman stated.

Kaoru managed to regain her composure and sighed. "It's just, I didn't think Tokio Saitou was the type to let herself get tied up."

Tokio smiled slightly. "Not unless I asked for it."

"Well, that was way more information then I needed."

"Then don't say stupid things," Tokio snapped. "Now help me get out of these ropes."

"Why should I?" Kaoru asked.

Tokio paused. "Oh, I don't know. Possibly so we can get away from this prison?"

"Well… how do I know you're not going to kill me the second you're free?"

"Are you still hung up on what happened in Vegas?" Tokio asked, struggling a bit. "That was when you were getting in my way. Now, we're in the same situation and I just want to get free."

"So no killing anyone?"

Tokio let out an undignified snort. "I'll leave that to Hajime. I just hope he left some of my bodyguards out of traction. Now, can you bend your right wrist to the left? I think that should give me some slack on my hand."

"Like this?" Kaoru said.

"Yeah, just hold it there for a second…"

Tokio struggled against her bounds, feeling the wrist beginning to slip free but at the same time, feeling the warm blood trickling down her fingers from the effort. She ignored the pain and continued to pull against the ropes. Just a little bit more and she should be free.

The door slid open and Tokio stopped moving as their new guest walked in.

"What's going on?" Kaoru asked, her vision restricted to the back wall.

"I should have known," Tokio snarled.

"Oh, such hostility," Yumi smiled. "Really, Tokio-chan, you shouldn't bear your teeth like that. It is most unladylike."

"I'll show you unladylike," Tokio smiled. "Just untie me."

"As amusing as that would be," Yumi replied, "my orders are to keep you here."

"What do you want with us?" Kaoru called out, recognizing Yumi's voice.

"You? Nothing from you. Just sit here and be good prisoners."

"Then why did you kidnap us?" Kaoru asked.

"Well, you see, we've been having problems staging proper operations with your male counterparts interfering all the time. So we decided to keep you as insurance to prevent them from interfering in our new plans."  
  
Kaoru wanted to say something, but Tokio beat her to it. "You mean to tell me that your grand plan to keep people from interfering in your plans it to capture their women? That is the stupidest plan I've ever heard."

"Come now, every man's weakness is his woman."

"Women are not a weakness," Tokio snapped back. "They are strength. And I know the Hiten family will not back down just because I was captured."

"Well I think you're wrong, especially since Hiko himself contacted us a few minutes ago."

Tokio's eyes narrowed. "And what exactly did he say?"

Yumi smiled. "Exactly? He said he was 'grieved' that you were captured and would like to negotiate."

Kaoru mentally cringed waiting for Tokio to respond. But instead, she felt her loosen her grip against the bounds. 

Yumi smirked. "Thought so. Now be a good little girl and sit tight." She laughed a bit and walked out the door.

Kaoru waited a few minutes after she was gone. "Tokio-san?" No response. "Tokio-san? Should we keep working on the bonds?"

Tokio smiled. "We should wait a bit. No reason to rush now, especially since they'll be here to help us in three days."

* * *

Megumi watched as Sano negotiated with the waiter. She turned away to look at the water that was across from the café they had chosen. It was hard to imagine Sano not only asking to pick the place but then finding out it wasn't a complete hole in the wall. In fact, looking at the people seated there, it looked quite nice.

The waiter nodded to him and ushered them to a small table at the edge of the restaurant. Megumi followed, the camera in her hand a constant remainder of what this dinner was really about. She needed a few pictures to show the people back home. Some form of proof that the honeymoon had been enjoyed before…

She nodded to the waiter as he handed her a menu. Scanning it, she recognized a few dishes and settled on something simple. Her stomach wasn't going to take much more. She put the camera down on the table and took the glass of water in her hand.

"This doesn't have to uncomfortable you know," Sano said, looking out at the people walking by.

"What makes you think I'm uncomfortable?" Megumi snapped.

He smiled a bit. "Your knuckles are turning white and I don't think that glass can take much more pressure."

Megumi frowned and put the glass down. She looked away from him and tried to regain her normal composure. But she couldn't find that sense of calm like usual.

This is so stupid! This is Sano! The big dumb rooster head you've know for over a year! Why are you getting nervous? Why can't you think of anything to say? Just say something… anything for…

"Megumi?"

Megumi blinked and looked over at Sano, seeing his brow a bit furrowed. "What?" she asked.

"I asked if you were ready to order," he said. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, it's fine… I just…"

"We don't have to do this tonight," Sano said. "If you're tired or something..."

"I'm not tired," Megumi replied. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

About how this doesn't feel wrong, she said to herself. About how sitting across from you does feel wrong at it. I thought it would, I thought that even a fake date like this would just be wrong… but…

"It's not," Megumi said softly.

"What's not?"

Megumi blinked up and looked at Sano. She shook her head. "Not the right dish," Megumi said. "I just realized I translated something wrong."

"Oh," he replied. 

The waiter appeared and started taking their order. He watched them for a minute before pointing to the camera. His English was broken but the words "Newlywed" and "picture" was universal.

Megumi nodded. That was why they were here after all. The waiter nodded happily and positioned his face behind the camera. He motioned for them to get closer and Megumi slowly pushed her chair until it clanked with Sano's.

"Sorry," she said looking up at him as her hand brushed against his and catching his glance at her.

Things suddenly froze as two shades of brown met in the middle of a crowded Venetian café. The camera flashed, capturing the moment on film and the waiter smiled as he placed it on the table.

Megumi blinked and looked away, putting her hand over the camera and excusing herself for a moment. She dashed into the back of the restaurant and into the bathroom in the back.

Looking in the mirror, she frowned at her reflection. The traces of pink still on her cheek already told her what the beating heart in her chest did. She was completely insane. She was completely and utterly out of her mind. She was anything but in love with… with…

Megumi Takani does not fall in love. She gave up everything when Kamiya-sensei took her in. She wasn't going to risk everything for… 

She put the camera on the dish and turned the water on full blast. Her fingers dove under it and she brought her face under the cool spray, trying to push the last bit of blush out of her cheeks.

She had yelled at him and he yelled back. She insulted him and he insulted her back. Nothing she threw at him had phased him. Nothing until this whole marriage fiasco. But suddenly he actually got hurt when she stopped talking to him. He actually offered to take the blame for everything and save her honor.

The stupid stupid idiot! Who did he think he was actually caring about her honor! Or getting hurt by things she did. She didn't want him to get hurt. She liked their verbal sparring. She liked the way his eyes flared when he was about to answer her retort. Or the way he laughed when she said something that amused him. She liked him when he was happy. Because when he was picking on her or smiling at her…

She heard something behind her and quickly straightened, her eyes level with the mirror. There was movement behind her and she barely had time to react as the hand reached around her mouth.

To Megumi's credit, she struggled valiantly. She landed a good kick to his knee, scratched the living hell out of his hands and tossed her head back a few times but couldn't make contact.

Sano would have said she did her best but suddenly that wasn't enough. Not now. Not when she was just starting to see between them thing clearly.

She knew what was on the cloth, she recognized the smell. And darkness was starting to over take her. There were noise outside and she knew her struggle had alerted people outside.

But they wouldn't get inside in time. There was only one thing left to do.

With the last bit of strength she reached forward and grabbed the camera. She felt her fingers wrap around the shutter button and she pressed it quickly just as darkness over took her. 

The assailant cursed, momentarily blinded by the flash. His grip loosened a bit and her body clattered the ground, the camera skidded across the ground under a stall. He cursed again, watching the door start to give on the assault outside. 

No time. No time to do anything but drag the body outside. He moved quickly and by the time they had finally opened the door outside, all that remained in the bathroom was a half broken camera.

* * *

The door closed silently as Misao moved towards the bed. She slowly slid the jacket off, trying to block out the lingering traces of cologne on it. She let it fall on the floor and sat on the bed, arms clutching her sides to keep what little warmth she could inside. 

He wouldn't even look at her. He just walked in and sat on a chair on the opposite side of the room. The silence was overpowering but Misao wasn't sure what to say. He didn't honestly think that she had something going on with another man? How could even imagine that?

"She left me," Aoshi said suddenly.

Misao blinked and looked up. "Who left you?"

"My mother," he said. Misao's brow furrowed. "She just left one day and didn't come back."

"She died?"

"No," he said shaking his head slightly. The frozen expression on his face never changed but the color of his eyes looked somewhat different. "She just left me with a friend after my father died. Never said goodbye, just went away and got a new family."

"Aoshi…"

"It doesn't bother me," he said firmly. "I told myself that the moment I realized she wasn't coming back. Nothing would bother me. And it worked for a long time. Only one day, Kaoru moved into our area…"

_"Leave him alone!" the little girl with pigtails cried. "Stop pushing him!"_

_The bullies shut a glance over their shoulders and smirked. "Why? He doesn't care!"_

_"But I do!" _

_"Shut up new girl! Who cares what you think!" they said, turning towards her and ignoring the little boy in the dirt._

"…and I met Kamiya-sensei…"

_"Is there a problem here?" the older man asked, his blue uniform pressed perfectly._

_The bullies stepped back as they looked at the officer. After a moment's pause they scattered quickly._

_"Are you all right, Kaoru-chan?"_

_The little girl nodded. "I am daddy. But I think they hurt him," she said pointing to the little boy on the ground._

_Kamiya looked at him with concern as he bundled his daughter in his arms. He walked over and reached a hand down to the boy. "Come on, I'll take you home."_

"I didn't want to get involved with them at first…"

_The little boy shook his head and Kamiya frowned. He felt Kaoru squirm in his arms and put her on the ground. She kneeled down and looked at him with a bright smile. "You can come to our house! Daddy made chocolate cookies last night."_

_"There should still be some left, if Kaoru-chan has eaten them all."_

_Chibi-Kaoru frowned. "And I have a new goldfish… only he's silver so I call him Icy. Do you want to meet him?"_

_The little boy looked up at her and the man next to her. His face never changed but he nodded slowly._

"But it was impossible not to. They slowly replaced what I lost."

_"So you want to be a police officer?"_

_"Hai, Kamiya-san."_

_The man looked at him, putting a few fingers to his graying beard. He stared at the teenager critically for a few moments before breaking into a smile. He moved quickly and enveloped him into a hug._

_"I was proud of you before. This makes me prouder than I ever thought I could be."_

"But you know what happened. It was just the same as before. He left one day."

"_Aoshi-chan, I am so proud of what you have become…"_

_ "Stop talking like…"_

_ "Please take care of Kaoru, she'll be all alone now. Tell her…"_

_ "You'll tell her yourself," Aoshi said, breaking out of the building's door and jumping on his motorcycle. "You're going to be…"_

_ "Tell her… tell her I love her and Yahiko and Megumi very much, I loved all of you so much. And tell her. Tell her she must tell Neechi that it wasn't his fault…"_

_"Kamiya-san…" Aoshi said, gripping the handles of the bike as the tears finally broke._

_"… I loved you all so much…so… very… much…"_

"So I promised to take care of her. So she wouldn't be like I was after my father died. And it worked well. Only last year things started to change again. Not her meeting Himura and falling… I knew that one day that would happen. I wanted it to so she wouldn't be like me."

Misao watched him, looking for any change and started to see it. His fingers tensed, his eyes grew more animated.

"I met someone…"

_"This is Detective Shinomori," the officer said motioning to Aoshi. "This is… ah…"  
  
"Makimachi Misao," she said with a bow and a smile.  
  
"Makimachi-san said she has some information about what happened at the club tonight," the officer said.  
  
"I have lots of information," Misao said with a smile. "But… I haven't had dinner so I can't really remember things so clearly…"  
  
Aoshi frowned and moved forward. "Let's go get some food then," he said walking towards the door, Misao following close behind._

"At first it didn't affect me at first. But somehow…"

_Misao was still there, sitting on Aoshi's bike, slowly turning a helmet in her hand. She looked up with a small sigh and threw it at him._

_"Come on already," Misao said. "We'll miss our flight… partner." He walked up to her and looked down at her for a moment before slipping the helmet on and taking a seat on the bike. _

"Somehow…"

_Misao looked up, her hands clutching her sides. She forced a smile, the same one she used every time she got in trouble and knew she was about to be yelled at. _

_"I know, I know," she said weakly. _

_"Misao…"_

_"I shouldn't have…"_

_But she trailed off, finding herself engulfed in a yellow suited hug. She blinked and tried not to get upset. It must be really bad if Aoshi was acting like this. She looked down at her tiny hands, almost lost in the fabric of his suit and tried to ignore the lumps that were forming on them._

"It did. More than I thought possible."

_She turned again and let out an exasperated sigh. What was wrong with this stupid pillow? It was like rocks were driving into her neck. _

_"What's wrong?"_

_Misao blinked and looked over at Aoshi's open eyes. "Sorry," she said softly. "I just couldn't get comfortable."_

_"Do you want another pillow?"_

_"No," she sighed. "This one is uncomfortable enough! I mean, what the heck did the stuff this with?" She picked it up and was about to fluff it when she caught sight of the source of her aggravation. _

_Placing the pillow to the side, she reached forward and tentatively wrapped her hand around the little black box there. She paused and looked over at Aoshi, finding him already concentrating on her. Slowly she opened the box and there in the middle with the golden band with a nice sized diamond._

_She looked over at him and if she wasn't already half blinded by the happy tears that were starting to form, she would have sworn he looked almost nervous. His eyes locked with her, relaying a message he didn't need to speak. And a second later, she gave him her answer._

"Maybe more than it should."

"No," Misao said suddenly, her voice cracking as she knelt next to him. "Don't think that… please, never think that."

"I can't do that anymore," he said, his eyebrows furrowing as if he was confused by the reason why. "I just can't let it not bother me anymore."

"I understand," Misao smiled sadly. "And that's not a bad thing."

"It is," Aoshi replied softly. "Because if I can't prevent it bothering me… I don't know if I could survive it when you leave."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Misao emphasized, grabbing his clenched fists in hers. "You have to know that."

"But you can't tell me where you have been going."

Misao's grip loosened a bit. "Aoshi… its work. That's all. It's something that could help us so much that it could change things, help us win this fight that we've been waging ever since I met you. Do you understand? I don't want you to be afraid for me but sometimes, things have to be this way. Do you really want me to sacrifice everything we've worked for?"

"I…"

"Think Aoshi," Misao said looking at him. "Not just what I would do, but what you would do. Think of the way you protect Kaoru and Megumi without even thinking of yourself. Do you tell them when you are in danger for them? No, you just do it. You have been for most of your life. So why can't I do the same for you? What if this was a way to keep all of them safe? To help us win?"

He looked at her, watching her eyes slowly swell up with tears. He looked at her and suddenly he understood.

* * *

The sun began to set, the orange flames of the dying day set the waters on fire and turned the entire city gold. Kenshin blended in at time like this. For this brief moment, his appearance became one with the world. There was only one thing that marred his perfection. A strand of black wrapped around his hand that he gripped tightly.

_"I understand Misao. I understand that I was wrong. I tried to protect them by taking it on my own. By always blaming myself when something happened to them and always trying to live up this impossible expectation that I could protect them."_

The door exploded into splinters and Sano ran in, looking around and calling out her name. The open window blew wind into the room and he looked outside, catching the ray of the setting sun in his eyes. When he managed to blink them away, he saw the tell tale tire tracks that could only mean one thing.

His fists clenched and he looked back in the room, searching for some clue for what happened to her. He could see the signs of a struggle and he knew she had tried. But it hadn't been enough. She couldn't do anything to help herself, he thought. That was until he saw the camera on the floor.

_"But they didn't need my protection. They didn't need my sacrifice. They needed my support, my help and my… love. I shouldn't have been their silent guardian. I should have been their friend. Their brother."_

Kenshin looked up and watched Sano approach the hotel, the camera in his hand and the streetlights creating shadows across his face. Their eyes caught and seemed to say all the words that hadn't been said yet. The feeling of loss, the failure to protect what was theirs, it oozed off them like a thick fog.

_"No one person can fight against what we are fighting against. The only chance we've had is when we were together. And I don't think that's changed. If this fight is going to end, then it will because we did it together."_

The two men looked up suddenly at the car that pulled up. The driver opened the door and stepped out, his long form unfolding from the seat. He turned to face them, yellow eyes glaring at them as he did. The passenger side door opened and the other man followed suit, his long black hair billowing almost as much as his cape.

The four of them locked eyes and there was a silent agreement. They walked in silence into the hotel, without another word.

_"Fighting things by yourself means you end up by yourself. I don't want that to happen to any of us. We'll go to Venice and get everyone together and tell them everything. And then we'll come up with a plan to win. No one is going to be a sacrifice this time. When this is over, we'll go home together. And we'll be free."_


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note : ** Eesh, I hate tying up loose ends. Sorry but Anime Boston has been sucking up most of my creative skills. Nothing like trying to pull together a Shinsengumi costume in the last week before the con.

Chapter 8 

Kaoru and Tokio looked up at the new prisoner was dragged in, her hair disheveled and a large welt appearing on her right arm. She lolled about, obviously unconscious from her ordeal. Tokio watched the guards carefully while Kaoru could only stare in surprise until the situation set in.

"Megumi! Are you okay?" Kaoru asked, desperately working against the bonds to get free. One of the guards stepped forward and put his gun to her head, forcing her to calm down.

A third chair was dragged near them and Megumi was added to the bunch. The guards waited until she was secure before disappearing out the door.

"Megumi!" Kaoru tried again, frantically trying to turn around.

"Calm down!" Tokio barked. "You'll tip us all over."

"Don't order me around!" Kaoru yelled back.

"Both of you SHUT UP!" Megumi suddenly piped in. "I have a real bad headache and neither of you are helping it."

"Megumi, you're okay!" Kaoru said happily.

"God, is she always that quick to changes moods?" Tokio asked.

"Yes," Megumi answered. "And until you've seen her first thing in the morning, you don't know how bad it can get."

Tokio chuckled and Kaoru let out an exasperated huff. "Fine, see if I ever get worried about you again."

"All right you two," Tokio began as if chastising two squabbling siblings, "let's just put every thing aside and concentrate on what's really important here." There was a moment of silence as everyone's temper fizzled away. "Okay, we need to get out of here. Takani, do you remember anything from coming in?"

Megumi shook her head. "I was out cold."

"All right, that's not a surprise," Tokio said. "Kaoru and I were brought in under the same circumstances. What day is it now?"

"Wednesday," Megumi said softly. "It was getting close to sunset."

"That's not too long after me then," Kaoru added.

"And I was the previous night," Tokio finished. "The Hiten were contacted when both Kaoru and I were captured which means they weren't ready for your kidnapping."

"Why would they be ready?" Megumi asked.

"The Juppongatana have come to the conclusion that by kidnapping us, it'll prevent our male counterparts from interfering," Tokio replied quickly.

  
"What the hell kind of idea is that?" Megumi asked, clearly flustered. 

"You're telling me," Kaoru added unhappily.

"Let's just leave the feminist revolt behind for a moment and consider this. The Hiten didn't contact the Juppongatana until after Kaoru was captured. Which means that they would have had no time to prevent Megumi's capture. Now they have time, so who does that leave?"

It took Kaoru and Megumi only a second to realize who that was.

* * *

Sano ran back the hotel, the envelope clutched in his hand. He hadn't even stopped to see what was inside. It wasn't that he wasn't curious, he just was sort of nervous about having Kenshin, Hiko and Saitou locked up in a small hotel room by themselves for too long.

They'd probably be killing each other by now, Sano sighed. The room would be torn to shreds and they'd be looking at each other while…

Drinking tea.

Sano's eyebrows furrowed at the site of the three men looking at each other calmly as they sipped from their cups.

"What the hell is going on?" Sano asked.

Kenshin and Saitou looked up at him unhappily.

"Nothing," Hiko said. "I am just enforcing a cease fire." 

"Temporary cease fire," Saitou retorted earning him a glare from Hiko.

Sano paused, wondering if he should probe further but considering the near statue like state Kenshin was in, he didn't doubt that the terms were something to be feared.

"I got the pictures back."

He took out the pack and crouched down on the floor between the three. The beginning was fairly cliché. Pictures of the group in Narita, then in Rome. A couple of Yahiko's soccer game. Some tourist pictures of Rome and then Venice.

And suddenly the picture of him and Megumi at the restaurant. He saw her eyes, the way she was looking at him and suddenly he couldn't go to the next picture. He knew what they would be of.

Kenshin reached forward to take them away but Sano shook his head. He took the picture of the two of them and put it in his back pocket. The moment he did, the rest of them leaned in, looking to see exactly who Megumi had gotten on film.

Half of the picture was her, eyes closed and lined with glistening tears and her face contorted in pain. It took all of Sano's strength not to leave that moment when he saw who was next to her.

"That son of a bitch," he finally settled on.

Kenshin looked up at Hiko, seeing a bit of disappointment in his eyes. Looked like he had wanted to believe redemption was possible. But this… this made it seem highly unlikely.

* * *

Misao's eyes blinked open and she looked around, reorienting herself. The steady tapping beneath her feet reminded her that she was on a train. Looking outside, she found herself surrounded by water. In the distance she could see a city in the sea fast approaching. 

Venice.

She looked over and saw Aoshi was sleeping peacefully in the seat next to her. She smiled slightly and leaned back into her chair. Reaching over, she placed her hand over his and let herself slip back into sleep.

Five seconds later, it seemed, Aoshi was shaking her gently. She looked up at him and realized that the rhythmic beating of the wheels on the tracks had stopped.

"We're here," she said, wiping the last bit of sleep from her eyes.

"Aa," he nodded and then reached up to pull down their bags.

She followed him out of the train and onto the platform. The place was extremely busy despite it being well into the night.

"What's going on?" she asked looking around.

Aoshi pointed up to the ceiling where huge poster hung from the rafters declaring that the Carnival of Venice would be occurring in a few days. No wonder, then, Misao realized. A huge masquerade party would bring a large number of people here.

He negotiated a cab and Misao tried to take in the city as they flew by but it was too dark to get any details. The trip to the hotel was short anyway and Aoshi wasted no time heading towards the room where the rest of their group would be staying.

"He'll never go for it," a voice from behind the door.

Aoshi opened the door without pausing. "What won't I go for?"

The four men turned up in surprise at Aoshi and Misao standing there. Saitou took a long drag of his cigarette before deciding to break the silence.

"Using the weasel as bait," he stated firmly.

"HEY!" Misao cried out at the nickname.

"We came to the same conclusion after talking with Himura," Aoshi broke in, preventing the fight. 

Sano blinked. "Woah… wait a minute, did you just agree?" Aoshi stared at him. "To use Misao?" Aoshi didn't move. "As bait?"

"Yes Sano," Misao said, rolling her eyes. "It was the only way. Besides with some prep time, we can make sure that you can track me to the rest of the girls. But I think we have a better way of finding them," she continued quickly. "You see, Seta Soujirou has been in contact with because he wants to defect from…"

"You've talked to him?" Sano said, standing up quickly.

Misao watched him warily. "A couple of times, why?"

"Why?" Sano snapped, moving towards her. Aoshi took a step forward, placing himself between the two. Sano trust his arm out and Aoshi moved quickly, catching it and instantly feeling something crumple in his palm. The two men stared at each for a few minutes before Sano let go, leaving Aoshi with the photograph.

Misao leaned over and looked down at the image, grimacing at Megumi's fear filled face. But then, what she saw next made her face fall with shock.

"That's not possible," Misao said. "That can't be Seta-san."

"Really?" Sano demanded. "'Cause it sure looks like him."

"Sano," Kenshin said, grabbing his friend's wrist and pulling him back.

"Then who the hell did I meet with six hours ago?"

There was a pause as the group let the situation settle in. All of them knew Seta Soujirou and it was obvious that neither side could be mistaken.

"He could have gotten here in time," Hiko said from the back of the room.

"Not on the train," Misao said. "Aoshi and I caught the first one out of Rome."

"The Juppongatana could have sent him by jet," Hiko added.

Saitou suddenly stood up and grabbed the picture, examining it closely. After a few minutes of silence, he frowned. "This is not Seta-san," he said after a minute.

He looked over at Hiko and the two shared a wordless agreement. Saitou handed the photo back and grabbed his coat striding out the door.

"What the hell was that about?" Sano asked.

"An old promise," Hiko replied and made it known with his tone that no further information was going to be given. 

"Then where does that leave us?" Aoshi asked.

"The weasel will meet with Seta-san this time," Hiko replied. "But this time she will be ready."

* * *

Two days. He knew he had told her to wait two days. But he knew that she wouldn't wait now that everything was coming to head. He left the message at the lobby as soon as she had arrived.

A café down the street, a limited amount to prepare, and a trap that she probably knew was coming.

Soujirou took a sip of his coffee and sighed. Could it be that part of him really wanted to believe the story? That he was defecting from the Juppongatana to join the good guys? No, not at all. He owed everything to Shishio-sama. And now that he was finally healed enough to take the lead again, Soujirou would serve him without impunity.

She walked in, long braid swishing behind her. He saw it in her eyes. No more distrust. That was because she had figured out the ruse. He would have to work fast now. He had a limited amount of time to secure all of the girls before the Hiten caught on and prepared them. Half an hour would not have been enough, at least not for anything that they wouldn't be able to find. Tracking devices, concealed weaponry, anything could be picked up by a Juppongatana search team.

That left only a few options. No doubt Misao would not come alone this time. So that meant isolating her from the rest of the group. No doubt she would be armed. But then so was he. No doubt she had a plan. But he had a better one.

He stood up and smiled as she walked towards him. She smiled back, a bit forced but twinged with a bit of sadness as if she had really wanted him to be a good guy.

"Makamachi-san," he said politely.

"Seta-san," she replied.

"Shall we get on with this then?" he smiled.

She nodded and took a step forward, unprepared as he reached forward and grabbed her arm, forcing her through the door behind him. He followed quickly after her not giving her a second to react.

Five seconds later, Aoshi and Kenshin entered the café. Kenshin looked around the main area but Aoshi quickly ran to the backroom. As soon as Kenshin was sure that it was safe, he followed him.

Aoshi stood in the middle of the empty kitchen. There were no signs of struggle, the back door was firmly locked in place. And Misao and Soujirou were no where in sight.

* * *

Saitou lit a cigarette and moved across the night soaked streets of Venice. He ignored the presence that was following him. He knew who it was but he wasn't ready to fight just yet.

Finally, Saitou came to stop in front of a huge cathedral. The courtyard in front of it stretched to the edge of canal bank and it was bathed in a mixture of moonlight and the soft glow of street lamps. Saitou sat down on the stairs, placing his sword at his side and took a deep drag on his cigarette. A few minutes later, he watched as the small figure approached him. He could see how the other would mistake him for Seta, they were very similar. But that was not Seta-san approaching him.

"Okita-kun."

"Saitou-sama." Okita took a seat next to him. "It's been a while." Saitou nodded and moved to extinguish his cigarette. "You don't have to worry about that anymore."

"I see," Saitou replied, bring the cigarette up to his mouth. "It is good to know you are well."

Okita nodded. Silence fell on the two. "Are you still upset then?"

Saitou shrugged a bit. "I never was upset… just disappointed. As was Tokio. I know you didn't agree with our merging with the Hiten but I didn't think you would just leave it all together."

Okita shook his head. "I had my reasons."

"And they still exist?"

Okita sighed. "In a way. I thought you were weak for giving up on the Shinsengumi as a separate entity. But now…"

"You have doubts," Saitou replied. "Then we will make a deal."

"A deal?"

Saitou nodded. "Yes, since you left the Shinsengumi you have been a mercenary for hire, correct?"

Okita's nose scrunched at the term. "I prefer professional hitman."

"The fact is, you were hired by the Juppongatana not only for your skills but for other reasons as well."

Okita nodded. "There is no point in denying it now."

"Meaning the weasel is already caught. So while Seta-san was in Rome meeting with Makamachi-san, you were here collecting Kamiya, Takani and Tokio." Okita smiled in response. "The question is why."

Okita didn't say anything. "To throw Tokio off guard," Saitou answered suddenly.

"So what is your deal?" Okita asked finally.

"Your contract with the Juppongatana is over," Saitou stated. "You will work for us." Okita looked up at him.

"I don't think that will work."

"Then I'll have to kill you for kidnapping Tokio," Saitou stated firmly.

Okita paused and let out a laugh. "Of course I see now. If I win, you will let that slide. If you win, I work for you."

Saitou didn't reply. The two men waited for a few moments and then suddenly they were gone.

* * *

Misao remembered falling but she didn't remember from where. One moment she was in the café, the next she was in a puddle of very cold water. Looking up, she saw Soujirou landing on his feet, pulling on a rope. Something above him slammed shut.

Misao cursed. Well, they hadn't been expecting a trap door in the floor. She started to stand up as Soujirou looked at her.

"My apologies for the rude exit, Makamachi-san," he smiled. "But I believe you broke your promise."

"Only repaying the deceit," she replied reaching behind her back.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Soujirou said. "I'll be there faster then you can draw your weapon."

Misao frowned, knowing it was true but also knowing she needed to stall. Aoshi would be able to track her by the chip embedded in her wrist. He'd realize soon enough that she was just below him.

"Why?" Misao asked.

"You know the reason."

"No, not the reason why you've been kidnapping the women," Misao said. "Why did you lie and say that you were going to defect?"

Soujirou smiled. "Because of your fiancé of course."

"What?"

"Shinomori-san is so protective over Kamiya and Takani, if he wasn't distracted by your… strange behavior, he would have never left them alone. Especially after that fool showed himself to Takani before he was supposed to."

"Kanyruu," Misao stated.

"Yes. We needed a distraction, you were it." Misao frowned as he finished talking. "Now, starting walking. I don't want your friends to track us down before…"

Soujirou fell back quickly as the two spheres dropped from Misao's hand. The flashbangs filled the tunnel with light and momentarily disoriented him. When his eyes came back to normal, she was gone.

And then suddenly, she was right behind him.

* * *

The courtyard was quiet but there was something in the air. A tree branch snapped as a typhoon ripped through the leaves and Okita hit the ground on his shoulder, spinning to a stop and leaping upwards as Saitou's sword shattered the pavement where he had just been.

Saitou paused at the spot and looked up into the empty sky.

"Stop holding back," he said angrily.

His reply was a quick movement behind him and the stinging sensation left behind as Okita's sword cut through his back. He turned quickly, but his sword hit nothing but air. His legs suddenly pushed off the ground, catapulting him into the air just as Okita passed beneath him.

He landed and turned, surprised to see Okita standing and watching him. Saitou's golden eyes shrunk to slits. "Why are you holding back?"

Okita shook his head. "I am not."

"You could have killed me by now if you were really trying," Saitou said.

"Then why are you fighting me if you know I am stronger than you?"

Saitou frowned. "You still don't understand. Strength is not measured in black or white terms. There are inbetweens and compromises, just like there was when the Shinsengumi and Hiten organization merged."

Okita smiled. "Is that so?" he laughed. 

"It is. So you might be more skilled then I am," Saitou said. "But that does not mean you will beat me. I have something else that will make me fight harder."

"And that is?"

"Revenge."

* * *

Soujirou ducked just as Misao's foot swung down. He felt his hair grazed against the sole of her foot and threw his arms up in a cross block as she threw her hand downward, kunai aimed at his forehead.

No sooner had he blocked her that her knee came straight up towards his mid section. His hands locked around her blocked arm and he quickly stepped aside, forcing her to bend towards him lest her wrists break in the process.

But she didn't move. Instead, her knee made contact and her wrist broke in his hand. He doubled over, in a mixture of surprise and pain. He heard her cry out as he did and it was at that moment that the ceiling above them opened.

Soujirou wasn't afraid of most things but the sight of a rather irate Aoshi Shinomori headed towards him was enough to shake him a bit. He did manage to reach back and grab his gun to at least attempt to fight back. Kenshin pulled Misao out of the way and watched as Aoshi went after Seta. There was nothing in the world that would make him trade places with the doomed Juppongatana member. 

Soujirou miscalculated on the distance between him and Aoshi. He was still thinking of Misao whose short legs would never have made contact with the raised gun. Aoshi's however, whipped around so quickly, he realized that he had just returned the punishment Soujirou had given to Misao.

He felt Aoshi's hand on the back of his shirt and suddenly he was in the water, his breath bubbling out around him. He heard Misao call out to Aoshi, though the water was muffling it a bit.

Somewhere between consciousness and the sweet darkness of lack of oxygen Soujirou had to admit something to himself. Their plan was better.

* * *

Okita's smile faltered briefly. It wasn't so much that he was surprised by Saitou trademark left handed sword move. He just never remembered it being that powerful. Saitou had been right. In the past, Okita had been able to block this attack, but he could tell that the anger enveloping Saitou would probably push his sword through Okita's in a second.

He moved finally, arcing himself up into the air and watching at the world flipped below him. He saw the edge of Saitou's sword scrap the pavement, sending sparks up on impact. And then it was coming straight for him.

Suddenly the world wasn't black and white to Okita anymore. It was a painful mix of colors that seemed to explode as he hit the ground.

"It's over," Saitou stated firmly.

Okita forced his eyes open and realized he was staring up at the night sky. But the brightest star wasn't a star at all. It was the light reflecting off of Saitou's sword as it stayed steady just above the gullet of his neck.

And Okita smiled, a true smile. "Yes, it is."

Saitou released his sword and reached down a hand. Okita looked up and grabbed it. "Welcome back, Okita-kun" Saitou said pulling him up.

"It is good to be with you again, Saitou-sama."

Saitou nodded. He pushed Okita forward and towards the hotel. "And Okita… never hold back against me again."

Okita smiled. "I wasn't holding back, Saitou-sama." He looked up at his old friend and his smile deepened. Well… not too much anyway, he thought to himself.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The smack resounded through out the room. It had to hurt but his smile never faltered. He just looked up at his attacker with a bittersweet realization in his eyes. He knew he wasn't getting out of here alive. Saitou glared down at him with a blank stare. Okita sat next to him and sighed, trying to ignore how alike he and the prisoner looked. 

"Just talk," Okita finally settled on.

"I'm not a traitor like you," Soujirou replied, smiling at his double. "First your family, now your employer."

Okita's smile twitched a bit but Saitou had already moved forward to deliver another blow. Kenshin caught his arm and shook his head.

"It's not working," he said. "There's no point in continuing."

Saitou shook his arm free and walked back to his spot on the tub's edge. Kenshin looked at Soujirou and frowned. The younger man was staring at the tiles on the bathroom floor seemingly oblivious to everything. The rest of the group, minus Aoshi and Hiko who simply couldn't fit in the cramped bathroom, continued to stare at him relentlessly.

"Seta-san," Kenshin began, "understand that none of us want to harm you. But you have people who are very precious to us and we need to know where they are."

Soujirou just smiled. Kenshin quickly stilled the anger in his chest, pushing back the twinges of amber that were slowly emerging in his eyes.

"We could trade him," Sano offered suddenly. "For the women. He is high enough in the ranks that he would prove to useful…"

"The Juppongatana won't play that game," Hiko's voice carried from outside. "They'd sooner kill him then loose an advantage."

"They probably have a remote device to administer cyanide already in him," Okita replied. "They do that with their employees."

"Even you?" Saitou asked.

"Well they tried with me," Okita shrugged. "But I was a bit smarter then to fall for the whole 'Internal ID badge routine'." Something in Soujirou shifted and Okita saw it out of the corner of his eye. Apparently, his double hadn't realized that.

"How long until they activate it?" Kenshin asked.

"He'll have to check in soon, with or without Makamachi-san," Okita paused. "…I think I have an idea." He motioned for everyone to move outside and left Soujirou locked in the bathroom chained to a chair.

Left by himself, Soujirou only had the company of his thoughts to keep him occupied. And they were arguing inside his head. 

_Impossible… Shishio-sama would have told me! He would have trusted me enough… _

**Are you so sure about that? Doesn't this fit his philosophy? **

_The weak die, the strong survive. But… but I am strong. _

**You were captured. You are weak. **

_I can escape. I'll get out of here. _

**You've already compromised the Juppongatana by being caught. The moment they find out… **

_NO! I won't believe it. I've been with Shishio for most of my life, he wouldn't… _

**When you worked for the Hiten, you had to call in every day. You had to constantly prove your loyalty. **

_That doesn't mean…_

**What does it mean then? If he trusted you then, he wouldn't have had you do that. If he trusted you now, you wouldn't have that ticking time bomb in your wrist. **

Soujirou shook his head to quell the voices. No… it wasn't possible. It couldn't be. But there would be only one way to find out for sure.

* * *

"No," Aoshi said firmly. Misao looked at him pleadingly but she knew this was going to be tough. Acting as bait for Soujirou had been hard enough. And it had only been when he had managed to reassure himself that he would be close by. But this…

"Just consider it," Okita stated. "I know we're walking into the lion's den but I can get her inside without anyone stopping me. Most of them mistake me for Seta-san anyway."

"And what good would it do?" Aoshi stated. "They'll separate you eventually and it's not as if she'll be allowed to keep any weapons on her."

"I'll tell them she's clean and besides, she can carry weapons they can't find on a body search."

"I've done it before," Misao added. 

"What I don't like is that we will lose her," Kenshin said. "You don't know where they're going to bring her after you've dropped her off."

"More importantly," Aoshi added, "wouldn't Seta-san just bring her to wherever the rest of the girls are? You said that your refusal to have the ID chip limited your access to their areas so you don't even know where they are!"

"We'll skirt around that," Okita said. "I'll tell them I'm being followed. There are two locations in town that I've been using to communicate with the Juppongatana. They have agents there that will take her."

"Then I'll go with them and find the other girls and we bust out of there."

"Wrong," Aoshi replied. "You will have a tracking device and we will follow you in there."

"You can't do that," Okita said. "It'll have to emit a radio signal and they have scanners to pick that up."

"And they don't have metal detector to pick up weapons that she might have," Aoshi replied back.

"We're not going to use metal," Okita replied. "We can use plastic and…"

"Aoshi," Misao said. "Give us another way." Aoshi paused and look back towards the door. "One that doesn't involve separating Seta-san into small pieces."

"And one that happens relatively quickly," Okita said.

Aoshi let out a deep breath as he glared at Okita and nodded. 

* * *

"Damn it!"

"Language, Kaoru," Megumi chastised. 

Kaoru snorted and then started to laugh. She let her hands fall and ignored the sharp burning that was edging around her wrists from her efforts to escape. "Sorry."

"I told you it wouldn't work," Tokio said. "You really are stubborn."

"I'm just sick of sitting here," Kaoru responded.

"I told you," Tokio replied, "help is on the way."

Kaoru was about to say something more when the door in front of her opened. Two men walked in dragging yet another unconscious woman.

"Misao," she said softly, recognized the long braid trailing behind.

The guards worked quickly and secured her, departing before Tokio could toss a quick retort at them.

"Woo hoo us," Megumi said sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" Kaoru asked.

"All the years about whining how women can be the same as men and look at us," Megumi continued. "Waiting for our men to rescue us."

"Not exactly," Misao croaked as she came to.

"Misao!" Kaoru said happily. "You're all right."

"Yeah," she said trying to shake the last of the drug out of her head. Well, at least it could have gone worse. But there was something… something she was desperately trying to remember. But no matter how hard she tried, she just could grab onto the fragmented memory.

"…said before you were captured?"

"Huh?" Misao said, missing the tail end of Tokio's question.

"Misao, are you sure you're okay?" Megumi asked.

"Yes… no… wait, I think I'm going to be sick," she cried just before dumping the contents of her stomach on her lap.

"It's okay," Megumi said in her best doctor tone. "It's probably just a reaction to whatever they gave you."

Misao blinked and looked down in her lap. It wasn't a pretty sight except…

"Misao," Tokio snapped, "were you hiding something in your stomach?"

"I think so," Misao said. "Yeah, looks like a plastic lock pick."

"You stored something in your stomach?" Megumi demanded.

"It was the only way to get something through," Misao replied.

"Misao, quickly pass the pick over to me."

Misao nodded and leaned down, ignoring the smell as best she could before she cried out in pain.

"Misao!" Kaoru cried trying to see what ailed her friend.

"It's okay," Misao said. "I broke my wrist earlier. It just hurt."

"You can do it," Tokio said firmly. "Try again."

Misao steeled herself and leaned down to her lap, feeling the binding on her hands pull and dig into the shattered bone. Tears sprung from her eyes as she did and she grit her teeth shut to keep from crying out.

Finally she could feel the plastic brush against her lips and she opened her mouth quickly, snapping it shut around the pick. Her head snapped back and she tried to stifle the sobs of pain as she looked over to where Tokio was.

The older woman craned her neck around and carefully closed her mouth on the end sticking out of Misao's lips. Once Tokio was sure she had it, she nodded to let Misao know that she could let go.

"Good job Misao," Kaoru said quickly, hearing her start to sob out loud. "You did a good job."

Tokio would have agreed but she was more concerned in getting her neck to twist around enough so she could get a good drop to her hands. She closed her eyes and hoped for the best, letting the pick fall out of her hands and into her waiting hands.

"Yes," she smiled as she felt her fingers wrap around the plastic. She paused and looked over both her shoulders. "Megumi, I'm going to free you first. I don't think Misao will be able to free us with that wrist."

"But… but I don't know how to pick a lock!"

"I'll walk you through it," Tokio said working slowly on the lock. "And I think Misao's going to need your help first.

Kaoru whipped around and saw Misao had slumped forward in her chair. "Hurry up, I can't tell if she breathing!"

Tokio worked as best she could, struggling to keep all her emotions in check, knowing that sweat on her hands would make her lose her grip. The plastic was obviously special engineered and it barely bent as she shoved it into the lock of Megumi's arm bindings. Her wrists screamed mercy, her fingers threatened to cramp up and just when she felt that she was going to lose her grip…

"Hurry Megumi!" Kaoru said, hearing the shackles hit the ground. "Her lips are turning blue."

Megumi stood up quickly and raced over to the unconscious form of Misao. It occurred to her as she was moving to wonder why the room didn't have security cameras. Wouldn't they want to keep an eye on their prisoners?

And then, as if to answer her, the door opened and reinforcements arrived in the form of Megumi's worst nightmare.

* * *

_Misao looked at the table with the glass of water and the plastic lock pick. This was the last step, everything else was good to go. Okita had changed into Seta-san clothes, he was practicing his speech as she sat here. _

_She reached forward to pick up the device and she watched as his hands came down over hers. She looked up into his eyes and saw something there that she never thought she would. With her free hand, she slowly brushed at his eyes, trying to contain her own tears. _

_"You have to do this," Aoshi stated firmly as if the convince them both and she nodded. "There is no other way." And she nodded again. _

_"Then just remember this," he continued. "That no matter what happens, I will come to get you. And… more importantly…I…" _

* * *

"MEGUMI!" Kaoru screamed watching as her friend backpedaled at the advancing form. Megumi's eyes were wide open in shock and she sought some escape.

"Well, well. It looks like you managed to escape. That's all right, I've got the perfect place to put you."

Megumi shook her head, watching as Kanyruu moved towards her. 

"A perfect little box."

Megumi's eyes started to water. Not again… not at again… any one but him…

_"I might not be able to help you face your fears but I can give you a chance to practice your fighting." _

"A warm and toasty little place…"

_"Practice helps. And facing your fears." _

"Where you can relive your mistakes over and over again.' 

_"That's not about techniques. It's about confidence. It's hard to have that when you're face with something that you're afraid of." _

Megumi's eyes snapped shut and when she opened them again, the remnants of tears flew from them. She started at him, Sano's words suddenly more overpowering then anything he was saying. And she saw him for what he was, a small little man. 

_"Either hit the stomach or the neck. You're a doctor, you should know that." _

A small little man who was about to get his ass kicked. 

She yelled, not a scream of terror or of anger but of pure unadulterated ki, energy pent up in her body from the years of self torment, of self abuse, of anger and sadness, pain and loneliness and the final realization that this was the end of all that. 

Kanyruu blinked once in surprise and then Megumi's fist made contact. Blood shot through his nose and he fell backwards, his head hitting the ground with a resounding thud and knocking him out cold. 

"That was for my family," Megumi said staring down at the body. 

She turned back towards Misao and quickly checked her mouth, finding something lodged in her throat. It took a second but she freed it and quickly began to force breath into the younger girl's lungs. 

"…I love you…" Misao whispered. 

Megumi laughed. "Well, I'm fond of you too." 

Misao blinked and looked around. "Where am I?" 

"You're in a Juppongatana cell," Megumi said, checking the girl's eyes out to see if she was focusing her eyes. 

"I… remember…" Misao struggled. "There was something I had to remember." 

"The lock pick?" Kaoru asked. "We have it!" 

"Speaking of which," Tokio said. "I doubt that was the last of the guards. And no matter what a mean right hook Takani-san has, I think she's going to need back up." 

* * * 

Soujirou frowned. He could her them just outside his door. They were making final plans and he could do anything to stop them. 

**Weak. **

_Shut up. _

**You are weak. **

_SHUT UP! _

But it was hard to silence the voice of truth. He needed to get out of here. The door opened and Sano came in. 

"Now don't get any funny ideas," Sano said, staring at him. "But I need your clothes." 

Soujirou smiled, despite the fact that he was about to be stripped and the fact that a very angry looking Saitou was standing behind Sano with a full loaded pistol. It was difficult to get the clothes off him while he was still tied up so the ropes had to be loosened. He didn't move just smiled as Saitou eyed him critically. 

They left with his clothes and not realizing that the ropes were not as tight as they used to be. He felt his broken wrist protest and realized that it was in his advantage. He waited, listening at they shuffled around, making final preparations. 

Then Okita and the girl were gone. He just had to wait a few more minutes, to make sure they couldn't call them back and then he could put his plan into motion. 

* * * 

Sano sighed as he lay back on the bed. "So now we got to wait?" he asked. 

Kenshin nodded. "Shisho and Saitou said they would follow Okita and Misao as much as they could. Aoshi is trying to get some of the JIA satellites to do the same." 

Sano nodded and tried to close his eyes. "You can sleep," Kenshin said, watching his friend's movements. "I can watch Seta-san." 

Sano shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Ne, Kenshin?" 

"Hai?" 

"Did you ever think you'd end up here?" 

"In Venice ?" 

"No… well, I mean yeah… I mean… did you think things would turn out the way they have?" 

Kenshin looked at the window and smiled slightly. "No. No I didn't." 

"All the problems, though, it's been worth it, ne?" 

"Hai, de gozaru." 

Sano smiled a bit at his friend's trademark expression. "And it will be, ne?" 

"Hai," Kenshin said firmly. 

Suddenly there was a sound in the bathroom and both men leaped towards the door. Before they could open it, it burst open and Soujirou took off, bounding over them as they fell backwards and crashing through the window. 

"Shit!" Sano cried, watching him disappear. 

By then, Soujirou was gone. 

But so was Kenshin. 

* * * 

"Shhhh…" Tokio said, staring back at her three women behind her. 

"I can't help it!" Kaoru responded. "Misao's heavy." 

"Oi," the little girl protested. 

"Come on Kaoru, I've had to drag your drunk ass home a couple of time and you're twice as big as her," Megumi said. 

"OI!" Kaoru cried out. 

"SHHHH!" Tokio cried. "This is not a field trip! This is an escape attempt and…" 

Tokio dropped the sentence and moved quickly, a blur of black as she attacked the guard that was approaching them. With a responding crack, she hit the temple on his head and the man collapsed onto the ground. 

"…we need to be quiet," she finished, retrieving the gun from the man's belt. "There, that should even the odds a bit." 

"Yeah one gun against an entire base," Kaoru said sarcastically. "You should do just great." 

Tokio tossed the gun at her. "My hands are my weapons," Tokio smiled. "You can use the toy." Kaoru glared but threw the safety off the gun and checked the chamber. "Besides, we just need to find the exit. We're not going to take down the entire base." 

"So we should follow the signs," Megumi said, pointing the red exit sign. 

Tokio's head snapped up and she frowned. "Well… of course, that's what I was…" 

Kaoru snickered, Misao smiled and even Megumi looked like she was about to burst out laughing. 

"Oh shut up," Tokio snapped as she moved forward, strafing around the hall corner to make sure it was clear. 

It was almost too easy, Kaoru realized. There was no resistance. No one to stop them. No one even guarding the exit door. She saw Tokio frown and nodded. She didn't like it either. 

"WAIT!" 

Tokio's hand dropped from the handle and she whipped around, watching as Kaoru mimicked her movement with the gun. 

"Okita?" Tokio asked. 

"Yeah," he nodded quickly. 

"What are you doing here?" Tokio demanded. 

"Makamachi-san didn't tell you?" 

Megumi looked down at Misao, seeing her brow furrowed in concentration. "I can't… remember." 

"It doesn't matter," Okita said, shaking his head. "Just listen to me, we need too…" 

"Hell no," Kaoru said. "I know you're Seta Soujirou. He's the one…" 

"No, he's not," Tokio stated. "It's hard to explain but…" Misao said. "Just believe me. Okita just looks like Seta-san." Kaoru paused. 

She lowered the gun. "Fine," she frowned. "So what's the big hold up anyway?" 

"This isn't the way out," Okita said. "But I know where it is. Just follow me." 

Kaoru nodded and helped Misao up, walking slowly after her with Megumi on the other side. The only one left was Tokio and for some reason, she couldn't move. Something just wasn't sitting right. She couldn't put her finger on it but suddenly… suddenly she wished she had the gun. 

**Author's note **: Yes, it took way longer then it should. But I had one week lost to Anime Boston and one lost to Easter (I'm Greek Orthodox so my Easter was last Sunday). This chapter ends with a bit of a cliff hanger and the funny part is… this isn't even the one I was planning. If I continued, it would have take another five pages to finish off this chapter so I'll just save it for the next one. 

And one more thing: **VOTE VOTE VOTE!! **

The RK Awards are up and running again :) Go here : to vote for your favority stories. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note : Ack on way for camping trip. Sorry for delay. Hurt wrist in karate. Later!!**

Chapter 10 

The people did not exist. The buildings did not exist. All the existed in his mind was the target. Feelings that had been packed away in the recesses of his mind slowly leaked out, drowning his eyes in gold. He knew it was dangerous to let the assassin kiss the surface again but there was no choice. He needed all his resources to catch up with the fastest man in the world.

Soujirou switched from the main road, bounding between the walls of two adjourning buildings until he reached the roofs and continued his race up there. With a small smile he turned sharply, seeing a blur of red out of the corner of his eyes as Himura struggled to follow. He just needed a few more minutes to reach his destination and then Soujirou's plan would be set. Unfortunately Himura had different plans.

The architecture of Venice created a rooftop maze and Kenshin saw his chance when a taller building suddenly rose up to the left. He moved quickly, skipping sideways until he was on the higher roof and running above Soujirou.

Soujirou lost him for only three seconds but the brief hesitation in his decision of which way to turn cost him. Suddenly, the sky above him rippled and he was skidding across the roof as the full weight of Himura hit him.

They rolled together coming towards the edge of the roof and both desperately hanging on as they fell. A second was all they needed to reorient themselves. And then Soujirou attacked. His arms used to hold onto the eave, he unleashed a fast side kick. Kenshin moved quickly and brought his own foot up, catching Soujirou's legs with the sole of his foot.

The move forced both of them away from the other and as they swung back, Soujirou was already moving his other leg for an attack. Kenshin let go of the eave with one hand and quickly swung it to the other side, as if he was on a set of monkey bars. Soujirou used his momentum to do the same, throwing another kicks from behind.

They continued like this until Kenshin reached the end of building. Soujirou smiled deeply, realizing he couldn't escape the attack this time. He swung to kick again but the metal in his hands started to buckle.

Both men looked up but before they could do anything the eave broke free and both were sent into the dark waters below. Kenshin felt the cold grip him like death's hand itself and he struggle to reach the surface. As soon as his lung took in enough oxygen he turned around frantically, looking for his prey. But he was no where in sight.

"KENSHIN!" Sano called reaching the middle of a bridge and seeing the tell tale red hair in the water. "Where's Seta?"

Kenshin turned to him. "I lost him."

Sano blinked and nodded slowly. He walked towards on end of the bridge and helped Kenshin out of the water. He didn't say a word as the redhead took off, jogging down the path that lined the canal as he searched for Seta. Sano couldn't say anything to Kenshin now anyway. He had seen the golden gleam in his friend's eyes and knew that he wasn't dealing with Kenshin anymore.

* * *

Misao was still sick. Either that or someone had replaced her mind with a dense cloud. She was aware of the smaller things. That Kaoru was next to her. That Megumi was clucking in her eye medical commands. That Tokio was pushing them forward. That Seta-san was walking next to her.

No, not Seta-san… Okita-san. It was Okita-san right. She remembered the two of them leaving the hotel. That was the plan, he was going to pose as Seta-san and bring her to a Juppongatana site and…

* * *

_"It'll be simple Makamachi-san," Okita assured her. "And I'll stay with you as long as I can."_

_Misao nodded and walked a bit stiffly as they approached the door. She felt her feet slow down and her heart catch in her throat. There was something wrong… she could feel it._

_"Okita-san," she started but he held up a hand and nodded slowly. Yes he felt it too._

_"We should leave," he said quickly._

_"I don't think that will be possible."_

_The two turned and Misao did a double take. Suddenly there were two Okitas in the small courtyard. When the full impact of what was happening hit her, she started to back away._

_"That's not possible," Okita said. "We only left half an hour ago."_

_"I don't hold the title of the world's fastest for nothing," Soujirou smiled._

_Okita returned the smile as he crouched down into a defensive position. "Go Makamachi-san," Okita said. "I will hold him off so you can…"_

_His eyes went wide and Misao realized her mistake too late. A gruff hand wrapped itself around her waist while one covered her mouth. It took one startled breath to understand what was happening. _

_The chemical burned into her nose and stole her consciousness away. But not quick enough for her to miss Okita as he called out her name. Or to miss seeing Soujirou drive his sword deep into Okita's side._

* * *

Misao felt her stomach clench and she knew that it wasn't from the medicine. She needed to warn Kaoru. She needed to warn all of them. She turned to tell her friend what was going on only to realize that Kaoru was no longer holding her up.

Soujirou smiled at her and shook his head. She felt something in her side and realized it was a gun digging through his jacket pocket and into her ribs. Her eyes locked on his in understanding what he meant.

"Where the hell are we supposed to be going anyway?" Megumi asked looking around.

"It's just a little further," Soujirou said as he dragged Misao forward.

* * *

Saitou tossed his cigarette into the canal. Not like the water was cleaner then an ash tray anyway. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

Nothing yet. Hiko's voice came on the other end.

"Nothing here either," Saitou replied. He quickly shut the phone and continued walking. Bloody town was like a freaking maze. They had thought that staying behind Okita would be okay but a couple of quick turns and they had lost him in the city. And the address he had given them was useless, the numbers here impossible to find.

He was about to light another cigarette when something rolled in front of him. He bent down and carefully examined it. It was a small Italian coin. His brow furrowed as he picked it up.

A second one rolled from the darkness and Saitou let it lay on the ground as he moved quickly towards the shadows, hand resting lightly on a gun concealed in his jacket. Half way there, however, his hand dropped and he took the final two steps as a run.

"Okita!"

The smaller boy was lying in a pile of trash, a thin red trail of blood coming out of his mouth nothing compared to what was coming out of his side. 

"…sai…"

Saitou shook his head to tell him not to talk but Okita pressed.

"Ma… maka… se…se…ta."

"I understand," Saitou said, preparing himself to relay the message to Hiko. "I'll take you to the hospital now."

Okita forced himself to smile a bit and then sank into oblivion.

* * *

One hour had passed. Hiko and Sano sat in the room quietly as Aoshi typed in the background, drawing up plans of the city and looking for any place that could hide a secret installation.

Kenshin was out on the balcony, sitting on his knees as his golden eyes surveyed the expanse of the city. He was looking for something, anything that might give them a clue.

"Wait a minute!" Sano said, suddenly standing up.

"What is it now?" Hiko snapped.

Sano spared him a glare as he turned to Kenshin's back. "Remember on the train ride over here, you and jou-chan got into some trouble."

Kenshin slowly turned around and Sano had to fight the urge to balk at the cold stare. "Remember the fight? You said there were Juppongatana and Italian mafia there."

Kenshin eyed him and then slowly nodded.

"Didn't you bring back a briefcase?"

Kenshin nodded again. "It is locked and obviously triggered to destroy itself."

"What briefcase?" Aoshi asked, momentarily looking up from his laptop.

Sano moved to the closet and grabbed the case, bringing it to the table where Aoshi sat. Aoshi glanced at it and nodded.

"It does appear to have traps set but…" he paused and moved a finger across the serpent emblem on it.

His eyes suddenly lit up and he moved quickly, running out to the hall and heading towards his room. The group slowly moved towards the briefcase, trying to see what he had seen.

"When we went down to examine what Kaoru had seen," Aoshi said, "there was a dead body there. I wasn't sure what it meant at the time but I took this from it."

He showed them the ring with the serpent on it. Slowly he moved it towards the emblem and lined up the snakes. The ring pulled forward and locked in place. Motioning the others back, he slowly turned it and an audible click filled the room.

Aoshi flipped open the briefcase, eyes scanning the contents before they were snatched up by the other men.

"I have plans of Venice," Sano said, rifling through his pile.

"These are schedules for the Carnival," Hiko added.

"And I have the name," Kenshin finished, holding up a document.

"A contract?" Sano said, getting a glimpse of legalese.

"So to speak," Kenshin hissed. "It is an agreement between the Juppongatana and a mafia family. Shinomori, look up the name Valentina."

Aoshi nodded and moved towards his computer. The map of Venice reappeared and slowly several regions were shaded red.

"They have a strong presence in this town," he said. "Where did you lose Seta?"

Kenshin walked over and glanced at the map. His finger landed on an area and Aoshi zoomed in on it.

"There… a bakery on the corner. And it looks like it's got an underwater tunnel running right under it."

"That would explain why I lost him in the canal," Kenshin said. "We'll go there now, and they'll take us to the Juppongatana," he finished, not a trace of uncertainty in his voice.

He walked towards the door and threw it open only to come face to face with Saitou. The two golden eyes locked together. A wordless agreement was made and the two men walked out side by side with the remaining group following them.

* * *

"Exactly where are we going, Okita?" Tokio demanded, stopping and turning to face him.

"I said," Soujirou replied. "To an exit."

"I think we're moving more into the center of the building," Tokio retorted. "I think there is something very wrong here."

Kaoru and Megumi stopped as well, concentrating on Tokio and then Okita. Misao locked eyes with them and they saw it in her eyes. Fear.

"Ne, Okita," Kaoru said walking towards him. "Let me take Misao for a while." But Soujirou didn't move to let her go.

"That's not Okita," Tokio said slowly.

Kaoru's eyes widened and she stepped back, running into Megumi. Soujirou watched them with caution. 

"I had hoped you would not figure that out until we reached our destination. But since you have…" He pushed Misao forward into them as he pulled the gun out of his pocket. "We'll have to do it the hard way. Now, continue down this hall until I tell you to turn."

"You bastard," Tokio hissed. 

"Maybe, Tokio-san," Soujirou smiled, "but I am not the one who was not able to tell the difference between a hated enemy and a man I considered a son."

Tokio bit her tongue and glared at him menacingly. Misao choked a bit as Kaoru pulled her up.

"Okita…" she said softly, looking up at Soujirou. "You didn't…"

"Move now ladies," Soujirou said cheerfully. "The party is about to begin."

* * *

"It doesn't make sense," Hiko frowned as they crouched by the alleyway. "Why would the Juppongatana come here?"

Aoshi shook his head. "I don't know yet but there are many pieces that are coming into place." He looked around for any sign of Saitou or Himura before continuing.

"Have you heard of Alenia Spazio?" Aoshi whispered.

"Is he a movie star?" Sano asked softly.

Aoshi pushed back the insult before continuing. "No, they're a satellite company based in Italy. They were in direct competition with DoCoMo last year to place a new network of cellular phone satellites."

"Last year?" Sano asked. "Wasn't that when…"

Aoshi nodded. "Yes, the satellite the Juppongatana had attempted to modify for themselves was the last needed for the DoCoMo network."

"The one that we wanted to modify as well," Hiko replied. "But also the one that was sunk to the bottom of the Japanese sea."

"Indeed," Aoshi said. "There were many people after that satellite, your organization, mine and the Juppongatana. The only thing was we never could figure out what the Juppongatana wanted it for." He paused, letting his thoughts collect. "Whatever it was, they've obviously transferred it over to the Italian system."

"What does that…" Sano started but he was cut off by Hiko's hand.

For a moment he didn't realize what was going on until he saw the air shift slightly and the door to the bakery fly open. Two second later three men came crashing out the window.

No command was issued. The three men moved forward quickly, securing the Italian mobsters as Kenshin and Saitou finished inside. A moment later, Saitou called out to them to come inside.

Sano watched the others run in without a second thought. He paused for a moment, wondering if he was the only one with any sanity left. Kenshin was in full assassin mode, Aoshi was saying more words then he probably had in his whole life and Hiko was taking orders from Saitou.

But he followed them anyway, knowing that it was his only chance to help Megumi and the others. And as he followed their echoing footsteps, it occurred to him that the bakery didn't look so big on the outside.

"Where are we?" Sano asked.

"Under the canals," Aoshi replied, touching the walls. "It looks like an old sewer canal."

Sano shook his head. What was it about sewers these days? But after a few minutes of walking, he realized that this sewer, unlike the one in Rome, had been recently redone. In fact, the floors had been paved straight, the walls had lights and there was a door up ahead.

Sano looked at it with a frown. "I guess we should find a…"

Saitou pulled out his gun and fired at the area around the door knob. Kenshin kicked at it as soon as he was done and the door came crashing down. The two men stepped inside, ignoring the blaring alarms.

"…silent way in…" Sano finished, shaking his head and following them.

* * *

Soujirou jumped at the noise and frowned deeply. This wasn't a good sign. Neither was Tokio-san's foot heading straight for his arm.

Damn that woman, he smiled to himself. She not be able to beat him in speed but her cunningness was unmatched. He tried to dodge the attack but he was off guard and she made contact with his broken wrist.

"GO! NOW!" Tokio yelled at the girls.

And for once Kaoru was inclined not to question her orders. With the help of Megumi, she quickly began to move away, dragging Misao with her.

Soujirou sighed. "Really, Tokio-san. You are being most difficult."

"I try," Tokio retorted, slipping into a defensive stance. 

"Fine, if it must be this way, I'll dispose of you and retrieve the rest of them," Soujirou smiled.

"That's assuming you can kill me," she said.

"Kill you?" Soujirou replied. "Never. Yumi would never forgive me if I…"

Soujirou ducked barely in time to miss the twin kicks that headed towards him. He ducked the first one and then used his low posture to push himself into a back flip as she tried to sweep his legs. 

He watched her come around for another attack as his hands hit the ground and he pushed into the air. Bringing his hands forward, her caught her foot and twisted her ankle until he heard it pop in his hands.

If she felt it, Tokio gave him no sign and rather came at him with a barrage of attacks. He blocked the first two but the third hit his broken wrist and it crackled under the pressure. He stepped back, giving them time to breathe and reassess.

Yes, he had done damage to her leg, most of her weight as one the back one. He moved to sweep it from under her but she countered, aiming the back of her hand for his wrist.

He stopped the sweep and pushed back re-establishing their stalemate. She glared at him and moved to place a kick right on his side. He prepared to counter it and realized all too late it was a fake. Without so much as a grimace, Tokio shift her weight to broken foot and kicked at him from the opposite angle, connected with his bad wrist and slamming it into his ribs.

Soujirou stumbled backwards and watched as Tokio's face contorted in pain, the bone in her leg pushing out of the skin as it broke. She landed on him, driving them both into the ground.

Soujirou didn't waste a moment. He grabbed her shirt with his good hand and pushed so her head was above his. He shifted to the right, brought a bent knee to her side and let his foot wrap around the other. He turned quickly, reversing their positions in one move.

Tokio found herself on her back suddenly, the pain in her leg, threatening to steal the remaining bit of consciousness she had left. She looked up at him to see what his next move was but saw he was no longer paying attention to her.

He stood up quickly and took off, leaving her on the trailing edge of wakefulness. She saw him leave. Saw the ceiling that replaced him. And finally saw gold before she passed out.

* * *

Kaoru didn't complain as Misao's weight dug into her shoulder. Shooting a glance over to Megumi, she knee she was in the same situation. They just moved down the halls, trying to find the way out.

Megumi suddenly stopped and Kaoru staggered off balance. She looked back, ready to catch Misao if Megumi dropped her but tiredness was not the reason Megumi had stopped. She was looking through a window on a door.

"Megumi?" Kaoru hissed.

Megumi shook her head. "It can't be."

"What?" Kaoru demanded, moving towards her. She looked into the room and saw nothing of true interest. A large glass room in the middle filled with vials and other scientific equipment.

"Megumi…" Misao said looking up at the doctor.

Megumi blinked and shook her head. "We need to go," Megumi said quickly.

"Megumi, what's going on?" Kaoru demanded as Megumi shot forward.

"That was a sterile laboratory," Megumi replied grimly. "There was another one just like it…in…"

"Where?"

"Las Vegas," Misao said weakly.

Kaoru tried to process everything as she and Megumi ran down the hall. "Wait… you mean that…"

"The Juppongatana still has some of the virus," Megumi finished.

* * *

Saitou carefully took her pulse. The damage to her leg was extreme and it would be life threatening if not cared for carefully. He looked up, locking eyes with Kenshin before turning back to his wife. He stood up and looked over at Hiko before following after Kenshin. Hiko looked a bit startled but reached down to collect Tokio.

"You two go ahead, I'll take her back to the surface," Hiko said.

Aoshi nodded and grabbed Sano's arm pulling him forward. "What just happened back there?" Sano demanded.

"It appears Himura and Saitou made an agreement," Aoshi replied. 

"An agreement?"

"That they would retrieve all the women together," Aoshi finished, quickening his pace to catch up with them.

Well, now I've heard it all, Sano thought himself grimly. Kenshin and Saitou working together to help others. He could only hope Megumi was in a less stressful situation then he was.

* * *

Megumi closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't believe this is the only way."

"Come on Megumi, you have to help me strap her in."

"I mean… the chances are just… impossible!"

"Stop being silly," Kaoru chastised. "Just get in."

"On a freighter ship, I can understand. In a secret military base in the middle of the desert, I'll buy that too. But what the hell would there be a helicopter in an underground base in a place that has more canals then streets?"

Kaoru sighed and strapped herself into the seat. A second later Megumi followed suit, grumbling to herself. Kaoru ran through the check list, bringing up the helicopter's system one by one.

"Kaoru?"

"What Megumi?"

"Ah… correct me if I'm wrong, but you need to go up right?" Kaoru nodded. "How do you plan to do that with the ceiling above you?"

"I'm working on that," Kaoru stated, flipping through the switches, hoping one would open the roof.

There was a rumbling underneath her and the floor began to move upwards.

"Kaoru… the roof is still there," Megumi said looking outside.

"I know… just a second…"

"Kaoru…"

"A couple more…"

"KAORU!"

There was a large crash as the roof doors opened upward. "Bingo," Kaoru smiled, looking over at Megumi who had her hands still clamped onto the seat.

The rotor began to turn and Kaoru carefully moved the throttle. The take off wasn't as smooth as normal but it was a strange way to do it. So she completely ignored the movement in the back of the copter.

* * *

Soujirou ran, his smile faltering as he realized where the girls had gone. Off all the places, they would have to find the hanger. He saw them in the copter and ran towards it just as the floor began to move upward.

Kenshin and Saitou had just seen him disappear into the room as the sound of a motor filled the air. Wasting no time, they dashed inside to following him.

Soujirou jumped into the back of the helicopter as it took of. It had been modified after its service in the military to accommodate more seats but the back of it was largely empty. It was more then enough place to crouch down and prepare to attack.

Kaoru worked to steady the large vehicle and glanced out at her surroundings. It took her a minute to realize they were in the middle of the water. It was shallow and the doors were acting as a barrier to keep the water out of the base. 

The copter was several feet in the air when Saitou and Kenshin reached it. Neither paused as they leapt upward, each catching hold of one of the legs and swinging freely in the air.

"SHIT!" Sano cursed as they watched the copter veer off from sight.

"Come on," Aoshi said, pulling him towards the back of the hanger. There was a thin stream of water coming from the hole in the ceiling and if Aoshi was right then there should be some aquatic based transportation nearby.

Kaoru looked over and nodded at Megumi. As soon as she did, she caught sight of the movement in the back, just as the console in front of her exploded into sparks. The helicopter bucked as the bullet did its damage.

Soujirou grabbed the side of a chair to keep from falling. Much to his dismay he realized it was being occupied by Misao. She didn't waste anytime belting him in the face with her good hand.

Saitou had just climbed in as Soujirou stumbled into him. With no time to react, the lanky man's legs stepped backwards and he pitched out of the plane, landing in the deepening water below.

The speed boat sped by him, Sano taking a moment to through out a life ring as they passed. Saitou would be fine, he told himself. All that mattered now was the helicopter and the people inside.

Kaoru tried to maintain control of the copter but it was no good. The controls were shot and it was out of control. She looked around and grabbed a crowbar from near the driver door. She wedged it into the throttle to keep it steady.

"Megumi! We need to get out of here," she screamed over the motor. Megumi nodded quickly. "Get Misao, I'll take care of Seta!"

Megumi moved quickly and unstrapped Misao. The younger girl pushed herself up and fell onto her, unbalancing them both.

Kaoru walked slowly towards Seta, her hands up in defense and her feet desperately trying to maintain balance as the helicopter pitched and yawed out of control. Soujirou looked up and moved for his gun only to find he had lost it on the ground.

Kenshin swung upward, more cautiously then Saitou had but with results that were rather similar. He ran into Megumi and Misao and the two unbalanced women quickly spun away and hit the ground. The helicopter pitched to one side and with nothing to hold onto, Megumi and Misao fell out of the open door and into the waters below.

"SANO!" Aoshi called out, seeing them fall. But the other man was already at the side of the boat, jumping into the water. Aoshi steeled himself and forced the boat to continue after the helicopter.

"Kaoru!" Kenshin called as she almost followed Megumi and Misao.

"Kenshin!" she called grabbed onto the seat and trying to maintain her balance. 

He struggled forward to reach her but the helicopter pitched again and suddenly she was hurtling towards him. 

He felt her, every inch of his body as it made contact. And for a moment, the golden eyed demon in his mind relaxed. But then he was falling, out the open door and Kaoru was no longer there.

She grabbed his arm, desperately hanging on as he swung in the open air. She was the only thing keeping him from falling and he could see in her eyes how much the strain was. He was getting ready to get back in when he saw Soujirou coming from behind and pointing the gun towards him.

Kaoru saw a flash of light across Kenshin's face and she knew what it was. The metal on the gun had just reflected off one of the helicopters lights. She looked at his eyes and could almost see Soujirou approach.

She locked eyes with him, blue shoving away the last traces of gold until only purple remained. There was no anger in them anymore. Just fear. Fear because he knew what she was going to do.

"I love you," she mouthed as she let go.

And then he was falling. Falling backwards she turned around to face Soujirou. Falling as he saw the explosion of the gun in the empty space of the helicopter. Falling as the helicopter veered towards the water. 

And underwater as it hit the water, exploding the moment it did.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 

"This is nice."

"I like it here myself."

Kaoru placed a hand on the green grass and smiled. She turned to face her companion and he returned her smile, his brown hair tussling in the wind. He turned away from her and looked out on the green field. The soccer nets were pushed out like sails as the wind caught them.

"I never thought you liked high school, Neechi," Kaoru said.

Enishi smiled. "I liked you. And that made it bearable… even pleasant."

The scene shifted suddenly and they were in a glittering hall. Kaoru was in a beautiful navy blue gown, so long it swept the floor as Enishi in his tuxedo spun her around. They were smiling, dancing to music that had played long ago.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" Kaoru asked suddenly.

He looked at her. "Do you want to be?"

She paused and furrowed her brow. "I don't know."

"You can stay here," he said. "With me if you want."

She nodded slowly and looked at him, blue eyes brimming slowly brimming with tear. "It would be nice but…"

The scene shifted again and she was in Venice, sitting on the rooftop next to him. On the balcony, she could see another man clutching the railing, red hair in the breeze.

"You have to go back," Enishi said following her gaze.

"I meant what I told him," Kaoru replied. "I do love him."

"And me?"

"I will always love you," Kaoru replied, grabbing his hand. "And I will always have you here," she said, placing his hand on her heart. 

Enishi's head looked down. "He's not the same now. You broke him."

Kaoru sighed. "Then I will fix him."

"It won't be easy," Enishi said, his edges slowly becoming blurry.

"I'm used to that."

"It's going to hurt," he continued slowly turning to gray.

"I know."

A ghostly hand reached out and touched her cheek. "You were too good for me," he said, his voice losing its definition. "Too good for any of us."

And he was gone.

* * *

Kaoru opened her eyes and everything screamed in protest at once. She wanted to cry out but she couldn't feel her throat. She couldn't hear anything above the pounding of her own heart.

The floor was cold or she was cold, she couldn't tell. She could barely remember what had happened. He had fired the gun while they struggled, the recoil had pushed them out of the helicopter and into the water. The explosion had sent them hurtling away, debris cutting into them. And now… they were someplace else.

Her head turned and she saw Soujirou. He wasn't smiling. He was staring at his wrist, slowly massaging a cut there and letting the blood ooze onto his arm. He turned and faced her, finally realizing she was awake. Without saying a word, his arm snapped forward and hit her temple, sending her back into unconsciousness.

* * *

Megumi stumbled into her room, the blanket across her shoulders already drenched from her hair. She let it drop to the ground and dumbly walked towards the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Sano followed her, almost tripping on the blanket as he entered the room. He saw the light from under the bathroom door and walked forward. Between the wood, he could make out the sound of her breathing.

"Megumi?" he said, slowly trying the knob but finding it wouldn't budge. "Megumi, open the door."

The shower suddenly turned out. A few moments later, he could feel the steam filtering through the cracks.

"Megumi, just open the door," he said. "You haven't said a word since… since…"

He put his forehead on the door and clenched his fists. "She'll be okay… you know she will. There was… no sign that she wouldn't be. I know it's been hard the past couple of days but it'll be okay. We're all here for you…"

He paused, his fists slowly unclenching. "I'm here for you," he said softly.

The lock clicked and the door slowly opened. A pale arm reached out, delicate fingers snaked forward and grabbed his collar. He didn't struggle, just followed as they pulled him inside and shut the door behind him.

* * *

Misao looked at the ceiling, her eyes wide open and threatening to overflow with tears. Her hands opened and closed by her side. Slowly she shook her head.

"No," she stated suddenly, her voice threatening to crack.

"I know," he said, his eyes closing tightly.

"No," Misao said again forcing her head to turn and look at Aoshi. "I don't believe it."

"Misao, you shouldn't think about," Aoshi said firmly. "Just sit back… Misao!"

She pushed his arm off her shoulder. "Leave me alone," she said angrily. He blinked, unused to her disagreeing with him in that way. 

"If you want to mope around here," she continued, "then go ahead. I've seen Kaoru taken down by worse and still come back. I'm going to find her."

Aoshi looked at her as she tried to get out of the bed. Her legs collapsed and he barely made it there in time to catch her. She wouldn't look at him, instead chose a spot on the ground to stare at. He closed his eyes for a moment and made a decision.

Reaching down, he grabbed her legs and carried her over to a chair, sitting her down in front of a computer. He took the seat next to her and turned the briefcase to face her.

"This is our only clue," he started. "Inside were several documents but we can't be sure what they…" He paused and looked up at her. She was biting her lip, her throat threatening to choke out a sob. He reached forward and put his hand over hers, squeezing it firmly.

She nodded and swallowed back the sob into her stomach. "We should teleconference Okina in on this. We're going to need all the JIA's resources."

* * *

The door opened and Saitou walked in, holding a small parcel in his hands. Tokio turned slowly and watched him. He sat down on the bed and didn't say word, but just stared at the floor. 

Tokio watched him, seeing something that no one else could, the whirling of emotions behind his eyes. There was anger at himself, shame for leaving her behind, and a sense of failure…

He didn't need to say a word. She knew that someone hadn't made it. And even if in her heart she needed to know, to make sure it wasn't Okita that had been the one lost, she knew it wasn't what he needed.

"You did all you could," Tokio said softly. "You did… what was right."

He took in a deep breath and nodded slowly. Slowly he took her hand and gave her the package. Without another wasting a moment, he headed towards the door.

She waited five minutes before he was gone before she turned her attention to the parcel. Her hands were shaking she attempted to open it, as if somehow knowing what was inside. The package fell on her lap and she willed herself not to cry. But it was hard to push back the tears as her hand touched the soft lock of brown hair.

"Okita…" she said softly, before the dam finally broke and the flood came down.

* * *

If it was cold out, he didn't care. If it was going to make him sick, he didn't care. For the first time, he found himself not really caring about anything at all. Because the moment he did, he saw her face and…

His fingers dug into the metal railing until his knuckles turned white. He could feel his palms stretching themselves to the limit as he tried to push the metal through them. He wanted it, the pain of it tearing into his skin. He wanted it to break through, let the blood gush out and cover them. It's all his hands were good for in the end, wearing blood.

"Stop it."

The command was firm, the tone firmer still but Kenshin didn't care. He didn't even turn around. 

"Let go of the damn railing."

"Fuck you," came his reply.

"You're pathetic."

"Fuck you."

He apparently didn't get the chance to have three strikes. Before the last syllable died in the air, he felt a hand grind into his shoulder and he was on the ground. Hiko looked down at him, arms cross and face made of stone.

Kenshin pushed himself off the ground and turned to face his attacker. He stood up and dusted himself off.

"So are you ready to talk now?" Hiko demanded.

Kenshin's golden eyes glared at him for a moment before he leapt off the balcony and onto the street below. Hiko never jumped or let out a cry of surprise. Instead he walk to the edge and followed down after Kenshin.

"Leave me alone," Kenshin said, picking up the pace as soon as he heard Hiko landing behind.

"Feh, you were easier to deal with as a two year old throwing tantrum," Hiko said leaning across a building.

"Like you would know," he said slowing his pace. He knew it was pointless to run anymore.

"Convenient of you to forget who raised you, boy."

"And what a good job you did at it," Kenshin replied bitterly.

Hiko took in a deep breath. "Don't push me."

"Why not?" Kenshin said, throwing up his arms as he turned to face him. "Afraid you'll have to face facts that you raised a monster."

"I didn't raise a monster," Hiko replied calmly. "I raised a very confused boy. Or more accurately, I'm still attempting to raise him."

"You let go of me ten years ago," Kenshin retorted.

"No, you let go of yourself. You walked out of the family, you disappeared into the streets."

"So I should have stayed what you made me?" Kenshin demanded. "An emotionless killing machine?"

"I did NOT raise you to be that!" Hiko shouted. His voice echoed down the empty roads and rattled some of the windows. 

Kenshin blinked at the anger in his voice. "You taught me how to kill," he said sullenly.

"And only the naïve believe that by not knowing how, they'll never have to. But I never taught you to hunt people without provocation. That was your choice because you believed it was the right one."

"And you never tried to stop me," Kenshin replied.

"I did not own you," Hiko retorted. "I could not force you to learn things that you refused to see. You wanted to help out. You thought the only way was to become an assassin. What did you want me to do? Would you have listened if I told you not to? Would you have stayed if I locked you in the house? What would have you had me done?"

"I don't KNOW!" Kenshin yelled back. 

"And you never will," Hiko replied. "Because you don't get the chance to see the road you didn't take. You have to live with what you did."

"I do, everyday, every person, I live with that."

"No," Hiko said, his voice softening. "You don't live with that at all. You are slowly dying with it, using it to make each day excruciating and never stopping to see that life just might be good. Or at least you used to. Until that girl came into your life and…"

"SHUT UP!" Kenshin yelled. "Don't say it."

"What? That she finally gave you a little bit of life? That you actually smiled and meant it? That you were happy?"

"Was happy," Kenshin repeated. "I was happy. But that's over."

"You really are pathetic," Hiko said.

Kenshin laughed just a bit under his breath. "For letting someone like that effect me? I suppose coming from you, it makes sense. As if you could care for someone."

"No," Hiko continued. "What makes you pathetic is that you probably loved that girl more then all of them combined. But you're the only one not trying to find her."

Kenshin looked up but Hiko had turned his back. "And for your information boy," Hiko said, walking away. "I did care for someone, and I still do. No matter how big an idiot he is."

* * *

"I just don't understand what the serpent means," Misao said examining the ring. "It's the not the sign of the Valentina family."

"Does it have to have a connection," Megumi asked softly, her hair still in a towel. She was sitting on the bed, knees in her chest, cringing as Sano replied the bandage to her arm.

"It has to. The briefcase, the rings," Misao said, "even all the paperwork has it."

"When Kaoru was kidnapped, they left behind a strand of her hair, coiled up like a snake."

The group of six turned to face the new comer. Hiko smirked, wondering what had taken him so long. Kenshin took a spot against the wall and sank down.

"Tokio's kidnapping was marked in the same way," Saitou added. "But the others…"

"Megumi's was botched, she fought back," Sano said, running a hand through his wet hair. "And Misao's was our own doing."

"So it has to have a connection," Misao stated firmly.

_"The snake has many meanings," _Okina voice crackled from the computer. _"Some religions have it eating its own tail to represent reincarnation or the repetition of the cycle of life. Others have as a source of pure evil."_

"Like the Christians," Sano said. The group turned to him. "After Sayo… well, I just wanted to see what it was about. I read that it was the form of Satan, that it was responsible for the tempting the first humans into sin."

_"Considering your current location, I don't think it's too farfetched to believe that the Valentina family is using that interpretation," _Okina added.

"But why would the Juppongatana use it," Misao asked.

"Maybe they don't," Saitou stated. "In all the years I've known them, they never have used anything but the 10 swords as a symbol of recognition."

"So this is different," Misao said. "But how?"

"Well, the serpent was the beginning of evil," Megumi said. "What's the end?"

"The end of evil?" Misao asked.

"There isn't an end of evil," Kenshin said. "Not without an end of everything."

"Well, there's the apocalypse in Christianity too," Sano shrugged, as if it was an idea of no consequence. But for Aoshi, it apparently meant something different.

"What did they say would happen?" Aoshi asked, shuffling through the pile of papers.

"Don't know," Sano continued. "Something about seven seals… horsemen or something."

"The four horseman of the apocalypse," Aoshi stated.

_"What about them?" _Okina asked.

"I didn't think it was anything but… I kept wondering why the Juppongatana would be so interested in the carnival. Okina, can you get a list of all the floats that will be in the carnival."

"What are you looking for?" Hiko demanded.

"It's starting to make sense," Aoshi continued. "The virus in Vegas, the cell phone satellite in Japan, the serpents here. It's all been for one thing."

_"The Apocalypse," _Okina stated. _"There's a float here named that and the description talks about four horsemen."_

"Aoshi, start explaining things," Sano demanded.

Aoshi turned to Saitou. "Okita said that all employees of the Juppongatana had an id placed in them. We just assumed that it contained a tracking device to monitor their activities and cyanide to destroy an employee that had betrayed the family."

"The Juppongatana have been known to do that," Hiko provided.

"But what if… what if, it wasn't cyanide? What if it was something else?"

Megumi watched him as he turned to face her. "The virus," she stated.

"Yes," Aoshi replied. "Think about it, the Juppongatana has employees all over the world. If each other them is carrying the virus in their internal badges…"

"Then Shishio has an instant weapon against the world," Saitou said grimly.

"Wait," Misao broke in. "People would figure out what was going on. They'd be able to quarantine the suspected carriers. If Shishio wanted to do anything like that, he'd have to activate them all at the same time." 

Misao trailed off. Her brow furrowed as she considered the words. Suddenly her eyes opened wide and she turned to Aoshi. "The satellite!" she cried and he nodded.

"Ah, details please," Sano said.

"Okay," Misao said turning to the group. "Remember when I couldn't bring a transmitter with me when Okita and I went to the Juppongatan base? They'd be looking for strange radio signals because all tracking devices have to somehow be able to report back. Radio signals are good for short distances but if you wanted to stay connected with someone worldwide…"

"You'd need a satellite network to bounce the signal around," Kenshin finished.

"Let's face it, we've shrunk cell phone to fit in our watches. There's no reason we can't have them small enough to say… fit under the skin," Misao added.

"So you're telling me," Sano said, pulling things together. "That Shishio has rigged his entire syndicate and his allies to have these devices. And inside these devices are two things, that virus that he stole in Vegas and a small cell phone device to connect it to a satellite that'll let him release the virus whenever he wants?"

"Exactly," Misao said.

"But I thought the satellite he wanted to use was sunk in Japan," Megumi asked.

"That's why he's in Italy," Aoshi said. "There was a competitor here that was doing the same thing. It's obvious he managed to use one of their satellites instead."

"Hang on," Sano interrupted standing up. "Does any one else think this is crazy? You've pretty much determined that Shishio is about to release a world wide plague. That's… that's…"

"Apocalyptic?" Aoshi finished.

"Insane!" Sano said instead.

"No one accused Shishio of being sane," Hiko added. "But he is smart."

"This is smart?" Sano exclaimed.

"Of course," Saitou replied. "If you know the virus has a cure. And you know people will be willing to pay anything for it."

"But we have the cure too," Sano replied.

"We do," Megumi said, suddenly feeling very small in her bed. "But there was a biolab in their underground compound. They probably altered it."

"And we can't alter the cure?"

"We can," Megumi nodded. "But… it will take time."

"Time the world won't have," Aoshi said. "If they have altered it, there's not telling how long it will be until the virus turns fatal. And if it's the entire world facing it at once, there won't be any choice but to give Shishio what he wants."

_"Aoshi, I traced back the float," _Okina's voice boomed from the laptop. _"It's being run by a company that we can link to the Valentina but… we can't find out more then that."_

"We'll find it," Aoshi said, standing up. 

_"Wait," _Okina said. _"If Takani-san is right and the lab is in the underground facility, we might be able to find the cure there as well."_

"We'll split into teams," Hiko replied. "I will take Saitou and Kenshin and we will find the float. Shinomori and Sano will take Takani with them back to the lab."

"No way," Sano said. "Megumi is not going anywhere."

"I have to," she replied. "You won't know what to look for." He started to protest again but she shook her head. "Don't worry, you and Aoshi will be there this time."

"And I'll stay here and monitor the situation," Misao said, "keep both teams in contact with each other. There's only one thing we need now."

_"Weapons," _Okina interrupted. _"Lots of weapons. And that's where I come in."_

* * *

It hurt to open her eyes, but she knew she had to try. When she finally managed to open them, she was met with darkness. She tried to peak but her mouth was forced shut, the sticky feeling on her lips meaning it was because of a piece of tape.

But she could hear and whatever was going on, it was loud. There was banging and explosions but… but laughter and music too. If it wasn't an attack, then what was it? 

"Ah, you're awake."

Kaoru's heart froze. That was a voice she recognized all too well. All the months since that day on the freighter she had had nightmares about ever having to face this day. Something moved against the back of her head and the blindfold came off. Her vision was limited to two eyes slots in what must have been a mask. She struggled a bit but found she could barely move from her position. It was a strange feeling since she was seated as if she was straddling a horse. As her vision adjusted to the light, she realized that exactly where she was.

It was a tall wooden horse with it's feet touching a man-made platform that was slowly moving down the road. The horse was as white as the fabric that ran down her body and touched the ground.

She turned her head and almost screamed behind the gag. A skeleton face smiled back at her and she knew Shishio was smiling from behind it. He wore a tattered black cloak that also fell across the back of a horse, only his was pale. In his arm was a large scythe that he let fall back to his shoulder so his neighbor could see her.

A handful of feminine fingers waved at her. Yumi, Kaoru realized grimly. Always on Shishio's right. Her mask looked like the face of someone who had almost starved to death and was just waiting for the final moment. Her own black dress made it hard to distinguish where she ended and her black horse began.

Kaoru turned away, disgusted by it all. But as she did, she came across the final actor in the macabre scenario. He turned to face her and through the eye holes, she recognized Soujirou. Only, he didn't appear to be smiling anymore despite the wicked grin on the mask he wore. He was dressed in red armor and held a huge red sword. He turned away, putting a gloved hand on his red horse and looked forward.

It was suddenly clear. All the noises weren't from a fight, they were from a celebration. She was waiting in the streets for a parade for the Carnival of Venice. But why? Was this some twisted hallucination?

"You should feel lucky that I chose to do this poetically as well as realistically," Shishio murmured from behind her. "It makes sense that the center of all my trouble should be the center of my greatest achievement."

Kaoru's forehead crunched in confusion. But his glance forced her eyes down to her wrists. Two thin lines were there, fresh from being cut open and still bleeding.

"When the time comes," he said, "you will be the first to die."

The horse suddenly lurched from under her. They were moving, out of the waiting area and on to the main street. Trapped, she could do nothing but struggle against her bounds.

"Relax my dear," Shishio said. "It's not everyday that someone gets a front seat to the end of the world."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 

The black van can to a screeching stop, startling several people as it did. The driver didn't get out but the side door slide open and a few soldiers stepped out. They began to yell at the people in Italian, telling them to move away from the area immediately.

As soon as it was clear, the hotel doors opened and the group of six walked out, five men, one woman. They were dressed conservatively, choosing not to stand out among the throng of party goers. But there was something different in their faces that made the soldiers realize that these were the right people.

They stood aside as the group climbing inside the van to pick out their items. It was an impressive collection considering that Okina had only called the Italian intelligence forces five minutes ago to warn them of the impending strike by the Juppongatana. His only request in return for the information was that a cache of weapons arrive at the hotel as quickly as possible.

Saitou wasted not time choosing several 9mm guns and slipping into holsters on his person. It might seem excessive but with Tokio still in the hospital, there was only one of them to carry out their revenge on the Juppongatana. And he wanted to make sure they never forgot the day they crossed paths with the Wolf.

Hiko was a bit more conservative, actually stopping to take some surveillance equipment in addition to the weaponry. He looked over at Kenshin as the red headed man examined the cache. Hiko frowned and dumped the surveillance things on him, deciding it would be faster then watching the man fight with his morals again. So he took a few weapons for Kenshin, just in case.

Aoshi was fitting Megumi with a bullet proof vest as Sano grabbed a few items. As soon as she was ready, he handed her something resembling a cattle prod. Megumi's brow furrowed before she nodded and awarded him with the smallest of smiles.

The group reassembled outside of the van and paused for just a moment before splitting and moving on to their destinations.

* * *

Meanwhile, in St. Mark's Square, the Carnival floats were circling before pulling into their assigned spots to await judging. Kaoru's wrist wounds had reopened slightly as she struggled against the bonds that just wouldn't budge.

"You'll get blood on your dress," Shishio smiled.

Kaoru shot him the nastiest look she could muster from under her mask but he shrugged.

"Fine, continue if you must," Shishio said. "The rest of us will just enjoy the show."

Kaoru turned away and looked down at wrists. She fought back the tears again and took in a few breaths. She was going to get out of this. Somehow, she was going to get out and then warn the others.

"Ne, Soujirou," Yumi laughed as she looked over at the boy. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were sulking."

Kaoru's head whipped up and she looked over at Soujirou. It was true, there was something wrong with him, Kaoru hadn't been imaging it. The red demon turned towards Yumi, staring at her intently.

"What's the matter?" Shishio suddenly demanded.

Soujirou turned his attention to him. "Why would anything be wrong?" he asked.

Kaoru blinked. That wasn't his normally cheerful voice. Suddenly, there was a bit of hope. If she could get Soujirou to help her…

"You should be happy," Shishio replied, his voice steady. "But the one time you should be, is the one time you don't appear to be happy at all."

"Happy?" Soujirou asked. "Yes, that would be true. Your plan is about to come to fruition. All the years of planning, this is your moment in the sun. Your theory that weak will perish is about to be proven."

"Yes, it is."

"So I am weak then," Soujirou demanded. Shishio glared at him. But before he could say anything, Soujirou held up his wrist. "I know. I know you had me marked as well."

Shishio frowned. "This isn't the time to discuss this."

"Of course not," Soujirou said. "We'll discuss it after you release the virus, I'm sure."

Shishio shifted, sensing the danger that was slowly growing around Soujirou. Yumi started to reach for her gun but Soujirou began to laugh.

"Go ahead," he said. "Take a shot with it."

Yumi's hand snapped forward and she held the gun level at him. Shishio didn't blink as the nozzle crossed in front of his face. Kaoru on the other hand, leaned back as far as she could. Suddenly Soujirou didn't appear the best way to get out of this mess. 

"Don't push me," Yumi said firmly.

"No, I'm serious," Soujirou smiled. "Take a shot. Probably would be more merciful then letting the virus do its job. Just make sure you use it on yourself."

"Soujirou," Shishio threatened.

"Shut up," Yumi cried, the gun suddenly unsteady in her hand. 

"Go on," Soujirou continued. "Ask him."

Yumi's breathing quickened but she didn't move or say a word. The only thing that changed in her stature was a quick glance to Shishio.

Shishio sighed. "I don't see where any of this is coming from. I was upfront with you about the plan from the beginning. You knew what was happening."

"Except for the implants," Soujirou stated. "Or ID tags. Or let's call them by their proper name, virus distributors."

Yumi blanched a bit and the gun started to waver in her hand. "Shi…Shishio?" she said looking at him. "It's not true is it?"

Shishio looked at her. "I told you, the implants for the virus were implanted in people who had crossed our organization. Like her," he motioned to Kaoru who was now struggling openly. She had come to the realization that she was not just surrounded by one psycho, the entire group was about to lose it.

Yumi nodded firmly. "Yes, of course. Soujirou, stop kidding around," she said starting to lower the gun.

"Think about it Yumi," Soujirou pressed. "What makes more sense? That Shishio would collect random people off the street or that he would just use people in his own organization."

"Soujirou," Shishio warned.

"Convenient how we all got internal ID badges around the same time that the virus implementation program began."

"It doesn't make sense!" Yumi cried, her grip suddenly tightening. "This entire plan is to make the Juppongatana kings of the world. What would killing them off accomplish?"

"It's not about the Juppongatana," Soujirou continued. "It's just about him. Him and his theory. Right, Shishio? This is the great test of who are the strong and who are the weak. What better way to rebuild a society in your image then by eliminating all those who wouldn't fit first?"

Shishio was silent. Yumi looked at him intently. "Shishio?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Shishio said. "There's nothing you can do to stop it."

Kaoru's eyes opened wide. It was suddenly clear that this wasn't a Juppongatana attempt to blackmail the world at all. It was Shishio attempt to wipe out most of the population and rebuild it from scratch under his image of perfection. The float wasn't a joke, Shishio was attempting to bring an apocalyptic plague to the world.

He turned to Yumi. "You are the one with the gun," he said. "It's your choice what to do."

Yumi looked at him and Soujirou. Shooting Soujirou would eliminate the last road block to Shishio's plan but… but if Soujirou was right, then Yumi had the virus too. And it might kill her. But that was only if she was one of the weak. And if Shishio had believed in her all these years, then that couldn't be true.

Yumi turned the gun. "I am one of the strong," she finished pointed the gun at Soujirou and pulling the trigger.

* * *

Hiko, Saitou and Kenshin ran up the stairs of a nearby house. The Plaza was packed and they needed a higher vantage point to find anyone in the mess. Once on the roof, Kenshin went for a pair of the binoculars and started scanning the crowd.

It was a kaleidoscope of humanity, he realized as he swept the crowd. All the costumes and masks glittered in the lights and it was hard to pick out individuals at all. The floats were scattered across the area and despite Okina's description, he wasn't sure if he was looking for the right thing.

"Wait," Kenshin said, letting the binoculars settle on spot. "I found them." He rattled off the degree reading on the top of his view and Hiko and Saitou adjusted their binoculars to find it.

"Four people," Hiko stated. "No one else appears to be around them." He paused. "The one playing Death… look at the bandages on his arms. It must be Shishio."

"Shishio would come out in the open like this?" Kenshin asked.

Hiko snorted. "That egotistical lunatic? How could he bear to miss his plan succeeding. Probably wanted the best seat in the house."

Kenshin frowned "The one of the right looks female. It must be Yumi." 

"The short one at the left," Saitou observed, "is probably Soujirou."

"But who is the fourth one?" Hiko asked. 

"Female," Saitou said.

"The only one in the Juppongatana other then Yumi is Kamatari… well, in a way," Hiko shrugged. "But last time I checked, he wasn't anywhere near Venice."

Kenshin's eyes squinted. Saitou was right. It was a woman. But who else did the Juppongatana…

"Soujirou," Kenshin suddenly said.

"On the left in red," Hiko said. "What about…" He trailed off. Soujirou was in the helicopter with Kaoru when it went down. If he was here now…

"KENSHIN!" Hiko called out but the red head was already running across the roofs.

* * *

Kaoru's eyes closed shut as the gun popped. She stayed like that for a minute before she realized that the sound was repeating. Taking a chance, she opened an eye and walked as Yumi kept pulling the trigger but the gun kept coming up empty.

Soujirou leaned over. "You don't think I'd figure this all out and then leave you armed?" he asked.

Shishio began to laugh. "Good job, Soujirou," he smiled. "But not good enough." He slowly removed the sheath from the scythe he had, revealing a razor sharp blade. Soujirou didn't bother waiting for him to finish, he took the red sword and brought it down towards him.

Shishio had jumped clear when the sword hit the wooden horse but Kaoru wasn't able to get away. The metal hit her horse as well and cut through it, slicing it in half. She slid forward, just passing under the sword as she hit the ground.

The binds still held her arms and her ankles close their partner but she had a lot more movement now. She quickly stripped off the mask and pulled the tape off her mouth. She was about to yell a warning to the crowd but they had already realized this wasn't part of the act.

She slid forward like a worm and tried to reach the end of the float but something grabbed her leg. Turning around, she watched as Yumi dragged her back towards the debris pile. Kaoru delivered a double kick to her stomach and Yumi dropped her, stumbling backwards.

Kaoru returned to her struggles but heard Yumi pushing herself off the ground. Looking over her shoulder, Kaoru saw the other woman pick up a plank of wood and begin to advance. She struggled to move faster but Yumi was moving to fast.

Yumi raised the plank above her head and brought it down with all her strength.

* * *

Aoshi and Sano looked at each other before eyeing the bakery once more. It was the only place they were sure led to the Juppongatana base but going through it was very risky. There was no doubt that security had been increased since they were last there.

"Once we start, we can't stop," Aoshi said firmly. "It'll need to be fast or else they'll be able to secure the lab. Misao, how much time will it take to reach the lab?"

_"About three minutes, if you walk. Under a minute if you run,"_ she replied through the headset.

"Run it is," Aoshi said. "Sano, cover Megumi. Whatever happens get her to the lab."

"Got it."

"Megumi…"

"I know, I know," she sighed. "I'll be careful."

Aoshi nodded firmly and gripped a small grenade in his hand. "Keep your eyes closed when these go off," he instructed. 

_"Good luck!" _Misao yelled over the headset, causing them all to flinch. 

"Let's move," Aoshi said, seeing a nasty retort forming on the edge of Sano's lips. He walked forward and carefully entered the back door, feeling the temperature drop as they moved underground.

The first set of guards was almost immediately by the entrance and Aoshi barely had time to react.

"COVER!" he yelled as he tossed the flash bang. Light filled the room and blinded the guards momentarily. . But it was enough time for Sano and Aoshi to knock them out. 

The process continued as they made they're way into the depths Venice. It was never a light run, their feet pounded against the ground as they ran, Aoshi barely giving them notice before incapacitating the troops in front of him. 

Sano had worked up a light sweat by the time they reached the main entrance. It was locked naturally but Aoshi had already broken through once before. Doing it again was simple, even if they had changed the codes.

The door opened and Aoshi barely had time to warn the rest of them before the dozen or so Juppongatana lackeys opened fire. The hallway was lost in a hail of bullets and smoke that ripped through the door way. Aoshi was trapped on the right while Sano covered Megumi with his body on the left.

Aoshi frowned. They didn't have time for this. Looking over at Sano, he locked eyes with the other man and waited for him to nod. Sano didn't look too pleased but nodded none the less.

Aoshi grabbed toward of the flash bangs, pulled the pins and rolled them through the doorway. There was a bit of commotion inside but the grenades went off the people inside were blinded. 

Aoshi took off, firing his gun as he took off down the right hallway. Sano took Megumi's hand and they ran down the left. 

"What about Aoshi?" Megumi asked once they were out of earshot from the guards.

"He'll lead them the other way. We need to get to the lab."

Megumi bit her lip slightly and nodded. She tried to silence the little worried voice in her head that Aoshi had just jumped straight into the fire and might not make it out.

* * *

The wood exploded in her hands and Yumi barely had time to blink before she registered that someone had destroyed it before it hit its target. And by the time she realized what was going on, she hurtling back off the float, the victim of a swift punch to the chin by a pissed off red head.

Kenshin would have regretted hitting a lady if Yumi had been one but instead he was more concerned with the bound up form at his feet. He fell to his knees and pulled her up to a seated position. Her eyes were still shut, as if she was still waiting for the final blow.

"Kaoru," he said, his voice cracking slightly.

Her blue eyes fluttered open and she smiled, her bound hands reaching forward and softly touching his chin. His eyes snapped shut and he was sure it was real. She hadn't died, she was right here.

"Kenshin," she smiled. "I knew you'd come."

"I thought… I thought…"

"I'm so sorry," she said, looking at him sadly. 

He shook his head to clear away the last traces of doubt that it wasn't real and grabbed her hands. "It doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're here. Glad you're safe," he said suddenly wrapping his arms around her.

He let his guard down for the moment but Kaoru got a clear view of what was about to happen. She could barely utter his name in warning before the gun went off.

* * *

Aoshi ran, doing his best to lead them as far away from Megumi and Sano as possible. It was hard to keep track of which way he was going but he realized so long as he didn't turn too many corners he would lead them eventually into the center of the base.

Or into a dead corridor.

Aoshi's feet skidded to a stop as he turned to face the pursuing guards. He had managed to outpace them but he could hear their feet approaching him.

_"Aoshi! Hold them off for a few minutes," _Misao yelled in his ear. Despite the volume of her voice, he could tell that she wasn't worried. She must have a plan.

"How long exactly?" he asked.

_"2 mins 32 seconds," _she responded.

Aoshi quickly did the math as he removed his coat and placed his hand on the first gun. He just had to time it right and he might have enough bullets to last until Misao's plan came into effect.

The first guard turned the corner and Aoshi pulled out the first gun, firing his first shot while counting to three in his head before firing the next one. The shots came out in rapid succession, the casings barely hitting the floor before the next shot was fired.

* * *

In the dim room of the hotel, Misao was typing frantically as the ICE breaker worked its way into the Juppongatana computer defense program. While it did that she was working with another computer hooked up with the JIA system to track down the satellite.

_"We found it,"_ Okina said suddenly though the laptop. _"We can position one of our satellites to take it out but it'll take half an hour for it to get into position."_

"Too long," Misao said, barely registering who she was talking to. She was concentrated on the progress bar of the ICE breaker. "Come on," she whispered.

_"We're trying to contact the Americans. They have one closer."_

"Good idea," she said, watching at the progress bar filled up and the Juppongatana security system. She watched as the entire layout of the base filled her screen. It didn't take long to find where Aoshi was. 

"Aoshi, LEFT!" she said, typing in the command and opening a door on his left. It took a few minutes before he responded and Misao immediately closed the door.

_"Make sure the biolab is open,"_ he said.

"Doing that right now."

_"The American's are having problems," _Okina stated. _"We're still…"_

"Hang on," Misao said. "I have an idea. Aoshi, go to the end of the room. There should be a vent there."

_"Found it."_

"Okay, follow my directions. I think I can get you to the command center and we can take out the satellite from there."

* * *

Sano and Megumi stood at the biolab doors trying to figure a way in when they suddenly opened. From the chatter over the headset, it was obvious Misao had just given them a way in.

Megumi quickly stepped inside but Sano paused at the door. Down the hall, he could the remains of Aoshi's chase group coming towards them. He pushed Megumi inside and yelled at Misao to close and lock the door.

Megumi turned and looked at him. She banged her hands on the glass of the door but it wasn't opening. Sano looked at her, put a hand on the glass and dragged it down, telling her to stay low. Then he turned down the hall.

"HEY!" he called out. The guards looked at him and Sano barely had a chance to take off before they started firing at him. Then he disappeared and Megumi was alone.

* * *

Kenshin and Kaoru stared at the gun that Yumi was pointing at them. Neither of them could move as she glared at them with an angry face. 

Then it broke and it was clear Yumi was in pain. She collapsed onto the ground, revealed Saitou standing behind her. His gun smoldered a bit as he followed Yumi's body to the ground. He glared at Kenshin and Kaoru.

"This is not the time," he said firmly, walking over and pulling a knife out of his pocket. He sliced through Kaoru's bonds. "Take the girl and get out of here."

Kenshin was about to do just that when he realized something. "Where's Hiko?"

Saitou looked at him and then up towards St. Mark's tower.

"That's where Shishio and Soujirou went," Saitou replied.

Kenshin looked a bit alarmed and then looked at Kaoru. She nodded firmly and let go of him. "Saitou, get Kaoru out of here," he said starting to run towards the fight.

"HEY!" Saitou called out, forcing Kenshin to stop short. Saitou frowned and reached for something at his back. He pulled the katana free and threw it to Kenshin. Kenshin caught it and looked at it grimly before taking off.

* * *

Megumi walked around the lab for a moment, not sure what to do. She was alone, locked inside a small room with a deadly bioagent. Some part of her was screaming to get out and could feel claustrophobia starting to grip at her.

No, she said firmly. She couldn't let that happen. She needed to stay focus. Pursing her lips, she pressed the button on her headset.

"Misao," she said firmly. 

_"Just a second," _Misao replied, frantically relaying instructions to Aoshi in the background. _"Sorry, Megumi go ahead."_

"Misao, I'm in the biolab. Sano led the guards away but I don't know if there are any alarms in here."

There was a pause before Misao responded. _"You should be okay now to walk into the main area. Hang on… do you see the computer at the desk?"_

"Yes," Megumi said, walking quickly across the lab to the empty chair.

_"I'm going to log in from here and you should be able to access all the lab's files."_

"Okay," Megumi replied softly, watching as the screen came alive in front of her. Misao signed off after that, leaving Megumi alone in the silence. After a moment, a normal Windows screen settled in and Megumi found she could open most of the folders.

At first, she was a bit nervous. The silence was overwhelming and she did feel a bit trapped. But as soon as she found the files for the virus, she forgot most of her fears. Until she came to a startling revelation.

"Misao," She said into the microphone. "We have a problem."

* * *

Aoshi wondered once why no one was following him. And then he decided to just forgo exploring the possible reasons and chalk it up to dumb luck. He listened to Misao's directions, hearing her bark out an answer to the wrong person occasionally before correcting herself. She must have had at least four conversations occurring simultaneously.

"Okay, the next door will be it and umm… be ready, because Sano is coming right behind you."

"Sano's coming from where?" Aoshi attempted to ask but half his question was lost in Sano's yelling as he barreled right into him and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him away from the approaching soldiers.

He could barely hear Misao's directions as she sent them stumbling into the command center. But he could hear the door slam shut behind them and saw the assembled crew look up at him.

"Oh crap," Sano observed as the five soldiers there stood up to take on the intruders. Aoshi was out of bullets, Sano wasn't the gun type so they did the only thing they could. Jumped into the fray bare-handed.

Aoshi was graceful, using the subtle art of Aikido to disarm and subdue most of his attackers. Sano was the exact opposite, crunching his fist into their noses to force them to let go of their weapons.

Both approaches worked fine and in a matter of seconds, the two had gained control of the room. Rushing over to the console, Aoshi quickly began to decipher the information while Sano secured the room.

_"Oh guys…" _Misao said through the headset.

"What's wrong?" Aoshi asked as he fingers danced across the keys.

_"Minor problem. Megumi just went through the biolab files and she says there's no cure."_

"In the files?"

_"At all."_

Aoshi and Sano fell silent. "What do you mean?" Sano asked.

"It means that Shishio really has gone insane," Aoshi answered. "Misao, I've got control of the primary control of the satellite systems."

_"Okay, let's try to get it to self-destruct,"_ Misao replied. She started to hand out directions as Aoshi typed them in, leaving Sano feeling useless at the side.

Suddenly the room went dark. A few seconds later, red lights filled the control room followed by a series of loud klaxons. 

"Ah, that doesn't sound good," Sano observed.

_"DAMN!" _Misao screamed through the headphones. _"There is no self-destruct device. It was really just masking the base self-destruct."_

"How is that possible?" Sano asked.

"Easy," Aoshi said, standing up and walking over to some of the fallen guards. "Shishio didn't want anything to take the satellite offline so if anyone tried to do it from here, it would rigged to destroy the entire base." He pulled the weapons off of them and proceeded to the door.

Comprehension flickered across Sano's face. "Megumi."

* * *

Soujirou crouched down, clutching the red sword as he scanned the bell tower. He had followed Shishio up the winding staircase but lost him just as he entered. He listened for any sounds that might give away Shishio's location.

He slowly turned around the corners of the tower, peering through the giant bells as he tried to find Shishio. Something moved in the corner of his eye and he brought the red sword to face it Several doves flew towards the ceiling and disappeared out a hole in the roof.

Soujirou realized his mistake immediately. The doves were a distraction and Shishio was right behind him bringing the scythe down towards his head. Soujirou leapt backwards, hitting one of the bells as he jumped up towards the ceiling. Shishio followed after him, attempting to ignore the incessant clanging.

Soujirou landed on top of one of the bells and watched as Shishio landed on the one opposite of him. Soujirou slowly twirled the sword in his hand a few times before crouching low and aiming it at Shishio, all the while tapping his foot, against the bell. Shishio smiled and gripped the scythe with both hands, preparing for Soujirou's strike.

Soujirou disappeared, leaving the bell swing in the background. Shishio listened, hearing the faintest of footsteps around him before he realized where Soujirou was coming and swung the scythe.

Soujirou landed on the ground beside the bells and felt the world tip to a side. Immense pain engulfed him and he barely could see straight as Shishio jumped off the bells amd strode towards him. Soujirou realized two things. One was that his hand still clutched the sword. The only problem was that his hand was no longer attached to his arm.

Gripping the bleeding stump, Soujirou closed his eyes as Shishio laughed. "You wanted to be rid of the device in your wrist. And now you are."

Soujirou backed towards the wall, trying to retain consciousness as he watched Death approach him with a raised scythe.

"Leave the boy alone."

Shishio and Soujirou turned towards the steps and watched as the huge figure emerged from there. Hiko Seijirou stepped into the bell tower, two katanas in his hands as he surveyed the scene.

Shishio turned to face him with a twisted smile. "So the leader of the Hiten has finally emerged to fight again."

"The same could be said for you," Hiko replied, positioning himself opposite from the Juppongatana head.

Shishio looked down at the slumped over form of Soujirou and turned back to Hiko. "Then I believe it is time we finish things."

"It has been a long time coming," Hiko agreed.

Shishio tossed the scythe to the side and caught the katana Hiko threw to him. He slowly strapped it to his side and prepared to fight. Hiko's feet shifted as he searched his mind for an inner peace that would lend him strength in the battle. But that inner peace was shattered as a voice filtered up the stairway.

"SHISHOU!" 

Hiko barely had time to utter a 'baka deshi' when Shishio attacked, katanas clanging as Hiko countered. Using his strength, he pushed the mummified opponent backwards clearing the way for Kenshin to bound up the stairs.

"Baka!" Hiko yelled as soon as he caught sight of the red hair. 

"Shishou," Kenshin said, taking in the scene and quickly resting a hand on the sword.

"Get the kid out of here," Hiko motioned towards Soujirou. Kenshin tensed up a bit but Hiko shook his head. "This fight is mine."

* * *

"Misao, what's that noise?" Megumi asked through the headset.

_"Ah… okay, don't panic or anything but it's the self destruct for the base," _Misao replied through the comm.

"THE WHAT?" Megumi cried as she ran towards the door and opened it, stepping into the hallway.

_"It's okay, you should have enough time to get out."_

"SHOULD?!?!"

_"I'm working on that. Oh… and umm… watch out," _Misao added quickly.

"What out for what?" Megumi began. But her question was answered by the sound of approaching gunfire. Megumi's eyes opened and she started to run. Two seconds later, she felt something grab her waist and suddenly she was thrown across someone's shoulder.

"Not fast enough," Sano yelled as he continued running down the hallway, with Aoshi firing guns off behind him.

* * *

Saitou was yelling and Kaoru was very glad it wasn't at her. It was at the hospital staff who were attempting to organize for casualties from the riot that had once been the Carnival. Finally he gave up and grabbed one of the nearby doctors by the collar.

"Fix her now," he stated clearly, pointing to Kaoru who could only meekly smile.

The doctor flustered a bit before looking over at her and motioning her to an examining room. Saitou followed behind and grabbed the telephone as the doctor looked over her bruises.

"What are these?" he asked in English pointing to the stitches on her wrists.

"I don't know," she replied, shaking her head.

"It can't be good," Saitou said rejoining them. "Cut them open and pull whatever's inside out."

"WHAT?" the doctor demanded.

"He's right," Kaoru said. "Please, just do what he says."

The doctor was still hesitant but one amber-eyed glared and he was calling for a couple of nurses. Kaoru closed her eyes as they cut through the wires and gently opened the wounds.

"What in God's name?" the doctor said, reaching into her right wrist with a pair of tweezers and removing a small cylindrical device.

"Be very careful with that," Saitou advised. "It's filled with a very potent bioagent that will spread a virus through this entire hospital in a matter of hours."

"Call the police," the doctor told one of the nurses. "We'll need to quarantine the entire hospital just to be safe."

No longer hesitant he quickly went for the second set of stitches, letting the other nurse sew up Kaoru's now virus free wrist. He paused as soon as he looked in the wound, bring down the magnifying glass to look into it.

"What's wrong?" Saitou demanded.

"It's not the same," the doctor replied. "It's attached to the arterial wall and there are a small series of lights… but I can't tell what they are."

"A countdown clock," Tokio said, suddenly appearing at the door in a hospital gown. 

"Countdown to what?" the doctor asked.

Kaoru looked up at them as realization dawned on him. "He said… he said I'd be the first one to die. That means… this is what he was going to use to signal the satellite."

* * *

**Author's note : **Yes, I know that the previous JIA have only had 12 chapters but this one... wow, I got to 14 pages and realized there was no way I could fit the entire conclusion in this time. 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 

Somewhere in space, an Italian cell phone satellite received a message from it's on board programming. It suddenly powered its small engines and reversed its course to wait for the message it had just been told would arrive. Slowly, it inched its way around the horizon, heading inexorably away from North America and across the sea.

**_T-minus 15minutes, 30 seconds._**

* * *

"What do you mean a timer?" Saitou demanded, watching as Tokio hobbled over to the bed. She looked down through the magnifying lens at Kaoru's wrist.

"The sick son of a bitch," Tokio said. "You've heard of the small LED screens that they've implanted under people's wrist to tell time?" Saitou nodded. "Well it's the same idea. Only instead of telling time, this one counts down."

"Counts down to what?"

"Armageddon," Kaoru whispered.

"Don't be so dramatic," Tokio snapped. "If we have Shishio's triggering device here, then we can stop him." She turned to the doctor. "Remove the device," she ordered in English.

The doctor looked at her. "Of course. But it will take time."

"Time?" Tokio asked.

"Yes… the device is attached to a main artery. If we simply cut it out, the young lady will bleed to death."

"How long will it take?"

"We will have to prep her for surgery, the anesthesia will have to take effect…"

"In other words," Tokio said glancing down at the lens to the clock, "it will be longer then fifteen minutes."

"Well… yes." The doctor looked at her confused. "Why? What happens in fifteen minutes."

"Nothing," Tokio smirked. "Except that device sends a message to a satellite to begin a world wide plague."

"I don't understand," the doctor said. Tokio looked a bit frustrated at his lack of English skills but never got the chance to continue. "That cannot send a message to a satellite."

The room fell silent. "What do you mean?" Tokio finally said.

"Eh… it's like my cell phone," the doctor said. "When the antenna broke, I could not connect to the system. That was to a small tower nearby. To a satellite… it would require a large antenna, no? But there is no antenna on the young lady."

The three looked at the doctor and then back at Kaoru. 

"Is he right?" she said softly.

Saitou turned to the doctor. "Get that thing out of her arm as soon as possible," he said, making for the door.

"Hajime," Tokio said starting to follow him. But he held her back and whispered a few things to her. Tokio looked at him and nodded slowly. Without another word, he disappeared out the door.

**_T-minus 14 minutes_**

* * *

Kenshin hurried through the crowded streets, trying to navigate through the people and towards the hospital Saitou had taken Kaoru to. The shoulder of his shirt stuck to his body but he knew it wasn't from sweat. He slowed down a bit and let Soujirou slide off his back to the street. He quickly examined the tourniquet on his arm and readjusted it to stop the flow of blood.

"Stop," Soujirou muttered under his breath. But Kenshin ignored him. "Leave me alone," he said again.

"Later," Kenshin said, placing Soujirou on his back again.

"Why?"

"It's the only thing to do," Kenshin stated simply, standing up again.

"But… I am weak," Soujirou muttered.

"If you die," Kenshin continued as he moved through the streets. "Then you are weak. The strong are the ones who refuse to die without a fight."

There was no reply and Kenshin didn't bother to check on his conscious state. Instead, he locked his eyes on the hospital ahead of him and barreled into the waiting room. A few seconds of yelling produced a number of overworked doctors that quickly took charge of the situation.

As he turned to leave and find Kaoru, Kenshin felt something pull at his shirt. Looking down, he saw Soujirou's remaining hand locked on his shirt.

"I think… you are right," Soujirou said simply before succumbing to unconsciousness.

**_T-minus 12 minutes_**

* * *

Misao's fists clenched tightly as she listened to the American response to their request. The most powerful nation in the world and they couldn't contact one satellite.

"I just don't understand!" Misao lamented into the microphone with Okina. "Don't they monitor all their satellites all the time? Why are they having so many problems?"

_"Well… there is good news and bad news related to that."_

"Good news?"

_"Yes, the satellite in question is an experimental military one. It's got onboard weaponry so taking out the Italian satellite should be no problem."_

Misao perked up considerably. "That's great! Ah… but… bad news?"

_"Yes well, apparently the guidance system is out. That's why they're having problems with it. Can't make it turn in the right direction and all."_

"Where was it designed? New Jersey?" Misao demanded. "This is ridiculous!"

_"Yes, well… there is one more thing they're trying. But it going to be difficult."_

"What's that?"

Okina gave the details, going into how they were moving a few of the neighboring satellites to intercept the errant satellite and bump it in the right direction. Misao couldn't help but imagine a giant Pong game in space but before she could elaborate that idea to Okina, there was a desperate call on her headset.

**_T-minus 10 minutes_**

* * *

The US Military satellite spun helplessly, lights flashing on its side as communicators on the ground tried to regained control. Suddenly, the lights stopped and the satellite's thrusters flickered on, pushing the device away from its position just above China towards the North Pole and towards a derelict Soviet satellite. 

Two minutes later, the two collided and the US one started spinning, heading in a direction of Southern India.

On the other side of the globe, the Italian satellite was slowly making progress across the ocean.

* * *

Sano finally came to a stop and let Megumi slide off his back. Aoshi came soon afterwards and frowned at the sight in front of him. A dead end blocked them in and guards were approaching on both sides.

"When did that happen?" Sano said walking up to the wall and pounding it with his fist. A dull hollow noise echoed behind him.

"They trapped us in," Aoshi said grimly.

"But Misao can open the door for us, right?" Megumi asked, watching as Aoshi reached for his headset. He looked over at her with an expressionless face while he contacted Misao.

"It'll be okay," Sano said as he felt around the door.

Megumi wanted to quip, make an insulting remark, anything that would break the tension of the situation. But everything died on her lips. How long had it been since the alarm went off? How much longer could they possibly have?

"Sano?" she said turning to him.

"What?" he asked, shoving a shoulder roughly against the wall.

"Sano… I just wanted to say… I'm sorry," Megumi replied softly. Sano paused for a moment and looked down. "You know, for everything I said it Tokyo. It was wrong… and I shouldn't have cared what my colleagues thought. You're a good guy, they would have seen that."

Sano hung his head a bit and mustered the words. "I'm transferring," he said finally.

"What?" Megumi asked.

"To Kyoto. I put in for it before we came to Italy. Figured it would be easier for you at work if I was gone."

Megumi sank to the floor and grabbed her knees to her chest. "I can't believe you would do that. I can't believe I was that horrible that you would want to move."

Sano knelt down and looked at her. "You weren't horrible," he stated. "I was just running away from things. We'll work everything out as soon as we get out of here. Okay."

Megumi looked up at him and nodded slowly. He smiled a bit and looked towards Aoshi who was frantically chatting with Misao while firing the few remaining shots he had around the corner at the guards. 

Suddenly his face fell darkened. The gun clicked empty a few moments later but his expression never changed. Apparently, whatever Misao said was worse the fact that they were now completely unarmed.

**_T-minus 8 minutes_**

* * *

Kaoru nervously clutched at the hospital gown and looked up at Tokio. The older woman wouldn't meet her eye though.

"So this counter," Kaoru began. "How exactly is it being powered?"

Tokio didn't budge. "You know the answer," she stated simply.

Kaoru nodded. Of course she did. It was a part of her, which meant that it was powered by the movement of blood through her artery. Which begged the question, what happened if the blood stopped pumping in her body?

"Before you have any noble ideas," Tokio said. "I'm sure that the device will send the signal just before it lost its power source."

Kaoru looked at her strangely. "Then… why remove it?"

"If there is a secondary purpose, such as making sure you were terminated immediately after the plague began." Tokio saw the confused look and just shook her head. "You're not the solution anymore."

"Then what is?" Kaoru asked, not noticing the anesthesiologist administering the medication next to her.

Tokio was silent for a moment. "I don't know."

Kaoru tried to say something else, but her eyes suddenly felt heavy. Just as she sank into unconsciousness, she heard a familiar voice calling her and saw a flash of red.

**_T-minus 7 minutes_**

***** * *

Saitou took the stairs three at a time as he attempted to climb to the top of St. Mark's Tower. It was imperative that he got there before the fight was over. Shishio was their only possible source of information now. He would have to know where the main satellite was.

Of course that would necessitate several minutes of brutal torture to get it out of him. But considering the amount of pain the man has inflicted on this organization, Saitou doubted Hiko would mind stopping the fight for a bit.

He just had to get to the top of the stairs. But it felt like for every step he took the tower would inch up higher into the sky. If it was anyone else but Saitou Hajime attempting this, they probably would just sit down on the stairs and give up.

But this was the Wolf, one of the original founders of the dread yakuza the Shinsengumi. The most notorious assassin to have survived the past two decades, considering that Battousai was a whiny antique dealer now. He had dealt with the attempted elimination of his group, too many assassination attempts to keep track of and brokered an agreement with the Hiten, making them the most powerful yakuza in Japan.

No matter who opposed, they always won. There had been many before the Juppongatana and none had succeeded. And they wouldn't now. He knew that. He knew he would get there in time. 

Besides, he wasn't fully confident that Hiko was up to fighting again. Leaving him behind to face Shishio was not his decision. He had been obligated to keep his promise to Battousai and help the girl.

The steps weren't as daunting anymore. He could see the top of them. But just as he rounded the final corner, he was pushed back by the tremendous sound that came from above.

**_T-minus 4 minutes_**

***** * *

The Italian Satellite cleared Iceland and the tiny engines flared for a course correction, moving it closer to Italy. 

Across the continent, the US military satellite continued to spin, hurtling towards India and then suddenly into another satellite. It rebounded quickly, heading suddenly on a correct path and a collision course with the enemy.

* * *

"That's the ONLY SOLUTION?" Megumi cried as Aoshi finished talking.

"Yes," Aoshi replied sternly, looking over as Sano continued to throw anything not nailed at the ground.

Megumi looked at him. "Then, I guess this is it."

"Sano!" Aoshi yelled towards the other man. Sano quickly tossed the rest of his arsenal and ran over to them. The two pulled Megumi close in the middle and used their free hands grab onto fixtures on the wall.

The sound of pounding feet echoed into the hallway. Aoshi yelled into the microphone. There was an explosion around the corner, propelling several guards forward. The rest followed quickly, pushed along by a wave of water.

The current rushed into the corridor and slammed against the three friends. The men held their ground even as the water ricocheted off the wall behind him. Somehow they managed to hear another door slam shut. After that the water quickly rose.

It was up to their necks before they let Megumi go. Before it went over their heads, they each took one last breath and dove under the water, swimming frantically towards the end of the hall.

The blast had bent back most of the metallic wall. Misao had told them that while she could not stop the self destruct system, she might be able to trigger the explosion near them a bit sooner. So they took the chance.

Two minutes later, they knew they had made the right decision. Sano broke through the surface first. As soon as he caught his breath, he located the other two nearby.

"We need to move!" Aoshi managed to get out. "The main explosion is…"

But he never finished his sentence.

**_T-minus 2 minutes_**

* * *

There are legendary battles in which armies are pitted against each other in fights which last months. And then there are ones that last barely an hour. There are duels declared after years of bickering between combatants. And there are duels fought in the heat of a moment.

As Hiko and Shishio faced each other, they knew that this fight was like none and yet like all of those at the same time. The fight could not be long and yet both combatants would not allow it to end quickly. It was a rivalry many years old but it was only recent events that had made it so volatile.

"And how is the leader of the Hiten Empire? Still recovering?" Shishio said.

Hiko snorted. "Far better then the leader of the Juppongatana."

Shishio frowned and looked down at his bandages, smiling. "I see we are bitter."

Hiko shook his head. "Not at all. Your plan failed back then, it will fail now."

Shishio shrugged. "That will remain to be seen. This time I am not relying on Soujirou-san to do my work for me. He would not be up to task," Shishio replied.

"He was good enough back then. Good enough to infiltrate the Hiten group. Good enough to get close to me. Good enough to start the plan…"

"Just not good enough to finish it," Shishio added.

Hiko shook his head. "No, I think he was better than your 'plan'. At least he realized that what you were doing was the cowards' approach."

Shishio shrugged. "The boy was fine with killing you before he left to join your group. If he were truly strong, he would never have stopped administering the poison. And you would be dead already rather then slowly rotting away. How many surgeries before there's no more organs left to remove?"

"I see you still think it clever," Hiko replied. "Why bother with honorable fighting when you can destroy your rivals but slowly killing their leader?"

"An assassin wouldn't have worked," Shishio continued smugly. "Neither would a bomb. You were too prepared for those. But the great Hiko would never admit to being sick. A little poison a day would make it seem like you had a sore stomach and nothing more." Shishio rested a hand on his sword. "I thought it was ingenious, actually. But my flaw was trusting Soujirou to do it. Now I have to finish the job."

Hiko pulled out his sword and leveled it at Shishio. "We'll see about that, Mummy-boy."

Shishio's eyes flared and he pulled out his katana, moving forward before it was even clear of the sheath. Hiko effortlessly blocked it, pushing him back into the wall as if he weighed nothing.

Shishio looked up and smiled. "So I see your strength is still there. But it is no match for my speed."

Hiko watched as the other man moved. Shishio was right, he was faster then Hiko. The only problem was, he was most definitely not as fast as another assassin Hiko knew. One that he had spent a few years training. And one that Hiko had made sure never won against him.

Hiko sensed the movement behind him and ducked, bringing up his sword just in time to clash with Shishio's. He turned, watching his opponent hit the wall with his feet and push off to use the momentum. Shishio's sword was not a threat but Hiko missed the gleam of the tanto in his hand until the smaller knife sliced into his side.

Not bothering to check the wound, Hiko instead concentrated on blocking the flurry of attacks. It was true, Shishio was an excellent fighter. But it was also true he wasn't nearly as fast as Kenshin.

Hiko struck quickly, knocking the sword out of the way, avoiding the tanto and hitting Shishio across the chin, sending the smaller man sprawling on the ground. Hiko advanced and lowered the blade to the back of Shishio's neck.

"It's over," Hiko said, looking down at the prone man.

Shishio was facing the floor but the words were audible enough. "Not yet."

Hiko turned just in time to avoid the first shot and watched as it hit the stone wall. Trust Shishio to resort to a handgun during a duel. He didn't ponder that thought but rather moved quickly, barely avoiding each shot as he moved across the tower. A bullet hit the wall and ricocheted upwards, hitting the ropes that suspended several large bells.

The noise was overpowering, the large metal clangs echoed through the entire tower traveled down the wooden stairs, knocking Saitou to the ground. Shishio stumbled backwards clutching his ear and Hiko saw his chance. He lunged forward and hit Shishio with his full weight. They both stumbled backwards just as the first bell fell down and smashed the wooden floor below them.

Hiko and Shishio grabbed onto the rope and swung over the never-ending drop below them, Shishio almost ten feet below Hiko on the rope. He started to climb upwards to attack but Hiko dipped down and gave him a kick in the face.

"HIKO!" Saitou yelled as soon as he reached the top of the tower. Surprised that his leader was not there, Saitou quickly followed the noises of fighting down the gapping floor. "Hiko!"

But the other man was too concerned with Shishio to hear his lieutenant calling him from above. He kicked hard and managed to connect with Shishio's hand.

"WAIT!" Saitou yelled, finally loud enough over the bells. Hiko looked up. "He needs to tell us where the satellite antenna is."

Hiko didn't need to be told twice. He reached down and grabbed Shishio by the collar with one hand. "Where is the antenna?" he screamed, as he pulled Shishio off the rope and dangled him over the drop,

Shishio kicked him in the stomach as a response. Hiko buckled and the rope suddenly dropped. Saitou looked up and saw the planks that had once supported the bells and ropes were starting to crack.

"Get up here!" Saitou yelled.

"TAKE HIM!" Hiko responded, hoisting Shishio upward and being rewarded by a kick in the face.

Saitou leaned down and grabbed Shishio's arm. The planks rained down wood splinters on top of his head and Hiko slipped away a few inches.

"Hiko," Saitou said outstretching an arm. 

"No," Hiko replied, feeling the rope start to give way. "Make him tell you."

"BASTARD!" Shishio screamed. "I'll never tell you! I'll never…"

The wood exploded, the ropes flew loose and the bells of St. Mark's Tower came screaming down.

**_T-minus 1 minute_**

* * *

"There, I think I can see how it's attached." The doctor said looked up at the glass window where the two people watching.

"Can you remove it?" Kenshin asked through the microphone, trying to ease the worry in his voice.

"I think I can… I just need a few minutes," the doctor replied.

"We don't have a few minutes," Tokio snapped. "Three minutes from now that device will send the signal and then more then likely …"

"There will be a dose of cyanide administered," the doctor said.

"Possibly," Tokio replied, somewhat confused.

"No, that's exactly what it will be. There's liquid under the device and a small needle that's already through the arterial wall," he replied. "If I try to remove it too quickly, no doubt she'll be poisoned immediately. I think if I carefully remove the clasps that are holding it in place…"

There was silence on the other side. Stuck behind the plate glass, there was nothing to do but wait and watch the clock in the operating room slowly tick down.

**_53 seconds_**

* * *

The US satellite came alive again and several of its side panels were blown off as the twin lasers came out. The Italian satellite inched closer and the US one fired. But because it was spinning, the initial shot was completely off the mark. 

**_48 seconds_**

* * *

The water was gone from beneath them one moment and the next it suddenly reappeared. Megumi smacked her back on the sea and instantly felt the pain race across her skin. She looked up at the surface of the water and watched as it moved away from her.

**_40 seconds_**

* * *

Hiko watched as the bells came down first, followed by the rope, the planks and finally some parts of the ceiling. The cacophony of noise was almost enough to deafen out the screams that had started moments before.

Looking up at Saitou, he frowned as the other man struggled to pull him over the edge of the hole with both hands.

"Idiot."

**_33 seconds_**

* * *

The US Satellite had only a few more feet before its enemy passed it and made the signal. Somewhere, buried in the mountains of the Midwest, a US military officer knew that it was his last shot. So he waited until the last possible moment and spent the rest of his time praying.

**_21 seconds_**

* * *

"THERE!" the doctor yelled, diving in with the scalpel. "I've almost got it free," he reported. "Just have to get the last hook to release." He worked feverously, barely noticing the nurse wipe away the sweat off his brow. He knew his time was ticking away every moment he didn't fully concentrate on his task.

**_14 seconds_**

* * *

Shishio was falling. And it annoyed him to no end. This was not what he had planned to happened. Not at all.

**_13 seconds_**

He should be up in the tower, surveying the chaos that would occur when the plague erupted.

**_12 seconds_**

He should be watching as his new kingdom rose from the ashes of this one.

**_11 seconds_**

Instead he was plummeting back to Earth. 

**_10 seconds_**

"FOOLS!" he screamed up into the sky.

**_9_**

"You think this will kill me?"

**_8_**

"I will survive this! I will be back!"

**_7_**

"I AM STRONG!"

**_6_**

Shishio hit the ground at full force, shattering several wooden floor planks as he did.

**_5_**

But his eyes blinked open and he smiled. He had been right.

**_4_**

He had survived. He was the strongest in the world.

**_3_**

Then the second bell crashed down on top of him and shattered every bone in his body.

**_2_**

The third and fourth ones finished the job almost simultaneously.

**_1_**

Shishio was dead.

**_0_**

* * *

The device came free from Kaoru's arm and the doctor tossed it into the tray just as the countdown ended. A stream of poison came out of the needle and collected harmlessly in the plate.

The officer took his shot, instructing the satellite to fire until its power ran out. And that's exactly what it did. It sent a continuous stream of heat and power in the form of a laser into space until it finally spun around to face the Italian satellite.

Megumi broke through the surface and watched as a light in the sky pulsed brightly before it died out. She pondered for a moment what it meant and then heard Aoshi and Sano calling her from the shore. Not wasting a moment, she quickly swam over to them.

Saitou and Shishio slowly made their way down the stairs.

"You should have let me drop," Hiko said.

"Shishio refused to tell me where the antenna was."

Hiko stopped walking. "You asked him once."

Saitou shrugged and continued down the stairs. Hiko shook his head and followed.

They walked out into the courtyard and surveyed the damage. People were limping, dragging the wounded towards hospitals. They walked among them and towards the now destroyed Juppongatana float.

There lying on the ground was Yumi, eyes blinking up at the sky. The wound in her side had spilled most of her blood onto the sidewalk.

"Did it work?" she whispered.

Hiko and Saitou looked down at her and saw no evidence of the virus. 

"No," Hiko said finally.

Yumi smiled a bit. "Liar," she said. "I'm just… just one of the…"

She stopped talking and her eyes stopped moving. The loss of blood had finally finished her and she was only moments behind Shishio, following him into whatever awaited them. Hiko leaned forward and closed her eyes, letting out a sigh.

No matter what she believed, the virus would have affected her. But she had none of the lumps on her arms. It could mean only one thing.

They had won.

* * *

_**And then there was just the epilogue... **_


	14. Epilogue

Epilogue 

It was so quiet at first. Kaoru opened her eyes and tried to adjust them to the light in the room. It was a moment later that she realized that it was actually sunlight. She brought an arm up to her eyes to rub away the last bit of sleep from eyes. She winced as the bandage on her arm shifted against the stitches.

Slowly she brought her arm down and her eyes caught movement on the TV screen at the end of her bed. There was a news report, the camera panning against the pandemonium that was once the carnival of Venice. The news anchor was speaking but Kaoru couldn't understand Italian.

Suddenly there was a stretcher with a body bag on it, followed shortly by another one. Two pictures suddenly flashed on the screen, pictures of Shishio and Yumi, obviously in reference to the dead bodies.

So the Juppongatana hierarchy had fallen apart. But did that mean that their plan had failed as well?

The news anchor reappeared and the scene shift to a US Military official. He started to speak in English, Italian subtitles on the bottom.

"We have confirmed that a Italian cellular satellite was destroyed earlier this morning when one of our navigation satellites fell out of orbit and collided with it. The satellite burned up later on re-entry."

The scene shifted away and Kaoru's brow furrowed. They hadn't mentioned anything about the virus. And Kaoru had a feeling, they never would.

She turned away from the TV and went to look out her window. But something caught her eye instead. Sprawled in the chair next to her was a very silent Kenshin, the only noise the steady breathing as he slept peaceful. Kaoru smiled and reached out a hand placing it over his.

A moment later, she was fast asleep.

* * *

The virus died in the underwater lab it had been created in and soon afterwards, the Juppongatana met the same fate. The remaining officers were charged with a wide array of criminal offenses and served out sentences in several jail houses across the country. Seta Soujirou was sentenced to life without parole but somehow, it didn't seem to phase him. He settled into a quite life of reading, most physical tasks beyond his ability now that he only had one hand remaining.

The Hiten organization also began to disintegrate. The elusive Wolf and his mate disappeared from Japan. People wondered about their location but most in the Las Vegas industry knew who was behind the huge Oriental themed hotel that was being built on the Strip. Those close to the two themselves knew it was less about making money then it was recreating a small part of Japan so that the couple's newborn son would not forget his heritage.

The leader of the Hiten was more elusive then his lieutenants. There were rumors of his death for many months following the incident in Venice. But no one has been able to confirm those.

As for the small band of heroes that ended the greatest threat to humanity, they were basking in the glow of obscurity. No longer threatened by the Juppongatana, they found themselves returning to their lives but finding that they could never be the same. And no matter how strong their bonds had been, it was time to move on.

* * *

The sun broke over the calm waters of Sydney harbor. Kaoru spared it a glance as she retrieved the mail from its box. It had been several months since she moved here and while the splendor of it still fascinated her she had more pressing matters on her mind. Flipping through the normal junk mail and bills, she let out an excited squeal as her fingers wrapped around manila envelope.

With an excited turned, she bounded up the numerous stairs until she reached the courtyard of the dojo. Pausing for a moment, she looked to the right to make sure that the kitchen was empty. Ahead was the sleeping area so that meant there was only one place left.

Heading towards the left, she heard the wooden cracks and knew that she would find him there. Peeking in, she couldn't help but smile. There he was, surrounded by a group of children attempting to teach them basic kendo. Swishing over in his black hakama, he fixed the grip of one of them and asked them to repeat the head strike.

*CRACK*

Kenshin's eyes went swirly and he pitched backwards, muttering a string of Oro's. Kaoru suppressed a giggle as the horrified student dropped her shinai and rushed over to see if he was alright. He jumped up suddenly, frightening her and send the rest of the class in a mock attack against him.

He managed to escape the pile just in time to catch Kaoru's eye. She waved the envelope and he nodded at her. With a small smile, she walked back towards the kitchen and set a pot of water to boil. A few minutes later, she heard the children leaving and a moment afterwards, he walked in and accepted the cup of tea.

"Did you open it yet?" he asked.

She frowned. "No, of course not." He took a seat next to her and waited as she tore open the seal. A cascade of photos fell onto the table. As she collected them, Kenshin picked up the letter and read it out loud.

"Hi guys," he started. "The photos just came back and we figured these were ones you'd be interested in. Tahiti was great, by the way. Thanks so much for kodachi and kunais. We're going to put them in the new house as soon as we move in. Which should be sooner then later 'cause no matter how much I like Yahiko, I'll be glad when we're out of Aoshi's apartment and he has it to himself. He says hello and that's it, of course. Anyway, enjoy the pictures. Call sometime!"

Kaoru smiled and help up the photos as Kenshin put down the letter. He smiled as he caught the first one. It was Misao in a traditional wedding kimono with Aoshi at her side. Kaoru stood next to them in her own kimono. Okina was on the other side. The temple ceremony had been small but there were seven pictures of it.

The scene shifted to a downtown hotel. Misao climbed out of the limo in a Western white dress with Aoshi close behind in a tux. They walked into the reception hall and were greeted with roars from the people there, mostly coworkers from the JIA. There was a picture of Kaoru in her party dress sitting next to an immaculately dressed Kenshin, followed soon after of one with him next to the table in a heap from tripping on the chair.

Looking on from nearby, Sano was laughing at his friend's misfortune while Megumi buried her head in her hand. The next picture focused on them, Sano in a dapper suit and arm around Megumi's waist and resting on her swollen belly.

Then there were pictures of the cake cutting, Misao gently feeding a piece to Aoshi and Aoshi dabbing a bit of it on her nose. Then it was on to the bouquet toss. One picture was of Tsubame getting dragged out to the middle while Yahiko blushed on the side. The bouquet was thrown up in the air and a few pictures detailed the scramble for it. Finally it was a photo of Kaoru holding it triumphantly over her head.

Then it came time for the garter toss. Of course the photo of Aoshi grabbing it wasn't present. He had the stone cold look of impending doom when the photographer tried to move in. So the first picture was of him holding it in his hand. The next was of Kenshin glaring at the rest of the men with slightly golden eyes. And finally it was of him holding it with a slight smile.

Finally, there were a couple of pictures of Aoshi and Misao taking off in their car, trailing soda cans behind them. A few of the group out at a bar celebrating afterwards. Kenshin and Kaoru looking slightly red-faced. Sano singing on top of a pool table. A picture of Megumi's horrified look which later turned out to be because her water broke. Sano looking down from the pool table and fainting on the spot. And the last two pictures were in the hospital of the newest addition to the Sagara family.

Kaoru sighed and took a few, tacking them onto the refrigerator next to a dozen other pictures of their nephew. She stood for a moment and looked at them.

"I think that kid is going to hate cameras before he turns three," Kaoru said shaking her head. 

"You can't blame Sano," Kenshin shrugged. "He just wants to capture every moment."

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Yes, the street-hardened bully has turned into a complete mush ball over his son." She looked at the photo of the baby in a police uniform for his first Halloween in Kyoto.

"Ah, kids do that to you."

"The same kids that take you down with a single head strike?" she asked with a playful smile.

"I wasn't ready for it," Kenshin replied with an indignant look.

"Uh huh."

There was a knocking at the door and Kenshin stood up, motioning for her to remain seated while he went to answer it. He pulled it open and came face to face with the last person he thought he would see.

"Who is it?" Kaoru called from the kitchen.

"No one," Kenshin called back. "Just a salesman."

"Okay!" Smoke began to filter out of the kitchen. "Ummm…"

"I'll go get dinner," he said, closing the door behind him and looking up at the tall figure there.

"What do you want?" he asked Saitou as they stood there.

"Just to walk with you to get food," Saitou replied.

Kenshin frowned but started walking. They made it halfway to the market before Kenshin spoke up again.

"So walking is the only thing you wanted to do?"

"Well, that and deliver a message," Saitou replied. "About Hiko."

Kenshin's face never wavered but his eyes betrayed him. Saitou only waited a moment before continuing.

"He died last week," Saitou said. "From the effect of the poison."

Kenshin stopped in his tracks causing Saitou to follow suit. He watched the red head as his eyes clamped shut and he dug his fingers into his hands.

Saitou frowned. "He wanted me to tell you," he began before trailing off. "That he was sorry." Kenshin blinked and looked up. "When he took you in, you were young and didn't know better. If it had been someone else to find you…"

"No," Kenshin said firmly. "I'm glad it was him. No matter what happened in the past, he gave me the chance to be where I am now. And I can't imagine wanting to be anyplace else."

Saitou nodded. "Then you should enjoy the other part of the message." Kenshin eyed him with confusion. "Since you were the closest thing he had to an heir, he left most of his estate to you." Saitou handed him a document. "There should be enough to start expanding that Kendo school. And enough so you can finally stop beating around the bush and buy that girl a ring."

Saitou walked away, raising a hand as he did. "Stop by and visit us in Vegas. Tokio wants to see you."

He lit a cigarette and turned down the street, pausing at the corner until he saw Kenshin turn around and run back to the dojo. With a sigh, he turned to the shadows.

"So was that really necessary?" he asked the darkness.

There was movement and Hiko emerged. "It's better this way. No more police trying to track me down, no more rivals trying to assassinate me. A yakuza can't retire, he can only die."

"So now that you're 'dead'," Saitou asked. "What are you going to do now?"

Hiko looked up at the sky. "I didn't give him the country house outside of Kyoto. I think I'll go there and take up a new hobby. Maybe pottery."

Saitou choked a bit. "Sure. Pottery."

And they turned and walked away together, into the street of Sydney and disappeared among the crowds.

* * *

**Author's note : All good things must come to an end. Thanks for reading the stories and I hope you enjoyed them ^_^ **


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